To Bring Back The Light
by fairytaleprincess03
Summary: Nancy has lost the light that everyone is so used to seeing. Can Frank help bring it back?
1. Chapter 1

Nancy sighed as she washed the dishes that her friends had left behind. They had had a good dinner, and she was glad that they enjoyed it. Bess and George were always trying to cheer her up nowadays and they held onto the hope that someday they would cheer her up to becoming her old self again. But she didn't think that that would happen anytime soon.

When she finished washing the dishes she walked into the living room of her penthouse and looked around. It was like a small house, she guessed, maybe a little bigger. But it was adequate enough and she knew that she really would love living here. She just had to let go of a dark spot in her past, and it wasn't going to be easy.

"Frank Hardy." He answered the phone running a hand through his dark brown hair. He was tired and had had a long day. Frank had just finished solving a case with his younger brother, Joe, and now was ready for a break.

"Frank? It's George."

"George?" He was surprised. Nancy's best friend didn't usually call him unless there was an emergency. "What's wrong, is Nancy okay? Is she hurt?"

"Well, not physically hurt." George replied.

"What are you talking about?" He felt his heart squeeze tightly. If anything happened to her, he would die.

"After a case she's did about a month ago, this light died inside of her...it's hard to explain, but if you were to see her, then you would understand." George said.

"What happened on this case that would do that to her?" He demanded.

"Can you come and try to help us?" George asked.

"Yeah, I'll bring Joe too."

"Oh, good." She sighed with relief. "Bess and I will explain it to you when you get here. But please, come soon."

"We'll get there as soon as possible." Frank said before hanging up. He turned and went to find his brother. 

After finding Joe in the kitchen scouring for food in the refrigerator he said, "Joe, we're taking a trip."

"Where to?"

"River Heights. Nancy needs our help."

"With a case?"

"No...something more than that."

George waved at the two brothers as they came out of the terminal. Bess waved back enthusiastically. She had wanted a chance to see Joe again, but this could be about her later. Right now it was about helping Nancy.

"Hey, guys!" Bess exclaimed. "We can't tell you how glad we are you were able to get a flight tonight."

"Yeah, this helps a lot." George said as they lead the way to the car. "We're having a hard time getting Nancy to cheer up, so is her father, and we figured you two might be the ones we need."

"Both of us, or one of us and you didn't want to leave the younger brother out?" Joe asked with a smile. He knew what was between his brother and Nancy, even if they didn't themselves. He was pretty sure that everyone else knew too.

"Both of you, after all Bess needs someone to flirt with." George chuckled.

"So, what's going on with Nancy?" Frank asked. He had been antsy since he got the call from George that something was wrong.

"Well, it started with her most recent case," Bess started as they settled themselves in George's car. "She was asked by Chief McGinnis to find out who was embezzling jewels out of the museums. She was having some problems with the case because this person was covering their tracks really well. Almost too well. It was as if they were a detective and knew what to look for but in this case they knew what to hide.

"At one point, the thief finally left behind some sort of clue and she was finally making headway." Bess sighed and then continued. "When she finally thought she had the person who was behind it, she went to find out. As soon as she found out who really did it, she had a hard time believing it."

"In the end, it came down to a fight." George continued seeing that night in her mind as she drove. "Unfortunately, there were guns involved in the end, and she was forced to shoot him, and he ended up dead."

"Who was it?" Joe asked.

"Ned."

AN: I'm not sure if anyone else killed Ned off, but for some reason, I wanted him to really have lost his mind. You'll see if in the next chapter! Please review and let me know if you like it!!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm sorry for this being short guys! Please be patient with me! :)

Frank stared at the cousins in shock. "Ned?! How is that possible? It doesn't make sense, why would he do that especially if he knew Nancy would end up on the case?"

"It does make sense after you've heard everything." Bess said. "Ned didn't like the fact that her cases always came first...and they had fights about it–and you, Frank. He didn't like that you two were–are as close as you are. Since he had been around Nancy enough to know how to avoid being caught, well, he did just that for almost two months. All of us were shocked when we found out it was Ned. I think the hardest thing she did was have to shoot him because he would have shot her. It was like he wasn't the person we all thought he was."

"Perhaps he wasn't." Frank said.

"I think the problem he had the most trouble with was you." George said looking back at Frank.

"What do you mean?"

"We're not blind or stupid, Frank." She smiled and said, "We know you and Nancy love each other, but we also know because of your morals you don't do anything about it. You have Callie, and she had Ned. You weren't going to mess that up."

"Uh, well, I don't have Callie anymore." He replied. "We broke up."

"Oh, then that could be good news for both of you." George said, and then continued saying, "Ned resented the fact that you and Nancy worked so well together, and fit together perfectly in ways he couldn't fit in. Nancy could and would give you anything she can, but she held herself back with Ned. I think he felt that the only way to get anywhere with Nancy was to become the bad guy...and I think along the way he snapped and just wanted to kill her."

"Bastard." Frank grumbled. That Ned could do that to Nancy was unfathomable. She didn't deserve it, and in the end she had had to kill him to protect herself. He knew that he would kill for her, and he would have killed Ned if he had seen him attack her.

"Yeah, he is." Bess agreed. "Now, because of that, the light that we always saw in her eyes is dead...we're hoping you can bring it back."

"I'll do my best."

"Here we are." George said as she pulled into the parking garage of Nancy's building. "She lives in a pent house. It's really nice, but Bess and I have our own place. She doesn't have to pay rent because she managed to buy this place in one shot. I think she did it because she didn't want more reminders of what had happened. But I think she also fell in love with the place."

"Poor Nan." Joe whispered to Frank as they walked through the parking garage with their luggage. "I can't believe Ned would do something like that to her."

Frank shook his head. "He couldn't hack it. He chose to go on a side that would end up with him on her bad side than good. He didn't appear to care by that point though."

"That's true..." Joe trailed off thinking as they followed George and Bess. Then he spoke up. "Hey, uh, shouldn't we be dropping our stuff off at a hotel?"

"Actually, we're hoping Nancy is going to let you stay with her. We're going to drop you off at her door and then take off, okay? We don't want her knowing that we got you involved in this."

"You want us to pretend to be on a vacation?" Frank asked.

"Something like that." Bess replied. "Or just say that you were in the neighborhood and wanted to visit an old friend."

"Lie to her?"

"If you think you should to that, then do that, but you don't have to." George said. "We just want to see her come back to most of her normal self. She's really withdrawn from everything."

"We'll do what we can." Joe said.

Bess looked at him. "Truthfully, I think Frank and you are going to have better luck with her than we have."

"Frank especially." Joe replied giving the cousins a reassuring smile.

"So, why don't you just tell us what room she's in and we'll go up there ourselves so that way you don't have to hide in the elevator or something like that." Frank said.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hope everyone enjoys this, oh, and a disclaimer which I hadn't thought to do before. I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys or the characters that were part of their book series. Any characters that are made up, are mine.

Nancy sat her table writing. She was forcing herself to write this report on her last case for Chief McGinnis. She didn't want to think about how frustrating the case had been since she had had such a hard time finding anything...and unfortunately the criminal had been sitting right under her nose. She shook her head trying not to think about it. She purposely refused to think about it and had decided that she needed to put herself in another case. Chief McGinnis didn't agree with her, so he had given her something that she needed to write up instead. A report on the case. She felt like she was reliving the case as she wrote it.

Her doorbell rang and she glanced up sharply. She was unusually jumpy since her last case. Standing up she walked over to a buffet that stood by her door and opened a small drawer that held a small revolver. She really didn't like guns, but lately, she couldn't stand the thought of taking any chances. Hiding it behind her back she walked over to the door, and opened it to find Frank and Joe Hardy standing on the other side.

"Frank! Joe!" She exclaimed. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're in the neighborhood and thought we might stop by to see you." Joe said.

"But I didn't tell you two I had moved." Nancy replied.

"We got it from Bess and George." Frank said. She looked down and saw their luggage.

"Where are you two staying?" She asked.

"We don't know yet." Joe confessed giving her an award winning smile that caused her to return a smile, though it wasn't very big.

"You'll stay here." She decided. "I've got three extra bedrooms and all of them have beds. You can decide which ones you want to stay in later on. Right now, come in and we can catch up!" Leading them in, she took a deep breath and put her revolver away.

"Staying alert, Nan?" Joe asked as he watched her.

She nodded. Frank sighed and said, "Nan...is everything alright?"

"Just peachy." She replied. "Come and sit down."

Joe looked around as he walked to the living room. It was a pretty snazzy place she had. "Hey, Nan, you've got a great place going here."

"Thanks." She smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes the way it used to, Frank noticed. He saw the missing light that George and Bess had talked about. He knew he was going to have to do something. 

"You know... I think I'd like to go for a walk for awhile." Joe said. "I need to stretch my legs from that plane ride. You know how jet lag is."

"Well, usually I sleep off my jet lag, but if you want to walk it off, go ahead," Nancy laughed.

"See you later." Joe said before walking out of the door.

Frank shook his head and said, "I don't know how he manages that."

"What?"

"Nothing." He replied. He smiled down at her. "So, what should we start with to catch up?"

"Sitting first," Nancy smiled back. They proceeded to sit next to one another on the couch. "How's Callie?"

"She and I broke up." Frank answered.

"Oh, Frank, I'm sorry."

"Don't be...she and I had too many differences. Especially when it came to my always falling in the middle of mysteries and you." He said.

"Me?"

"Yeah, she didn't like the fact that we worked really well together." Or the fact that I'm in love with you, he thought silently to himself.

"Oh..." Her voice drifted off. It reminded her of an argument she and Ned had had...

_ "Damn it, Nancy! I don't like him!" Ned had shouted. They were standing in his apartment arguing over Frank since she had just gotten back from solving a mystery with him._

_ "Ned, I don't see the problem!" She cried. "We haven't done anything! I'm with you and he's with Callie!"_

_ "And if you two weren't tied down by us? What then?" He demanded._

_ "That's a what if, Ned."_

_ "Don't avoid the question!" He shouted. "Answer me! If Callie and I weren't in the picture would you and Frank have done anything by now?"_

_ "I don't know!" She exclaimed, "Maybe! Probably! But I truthfully don't know!"_

_ "He would have made a move. I see the way he looks at you. I've even caught glimpses of the way you look back at him. You'd do things for him you wouldn't do for me." Ned sighed._

_ "Oh, Ned, that's not true!"_

_ "Isn't it? Come off it, Nancy. You know you would, and he probably knows you would too."_

_ "Ned, don't jump to conclusions." She answered._

_ "Alright fine." He glanced around. "Stay with me tonight."_

_ "What?"_

_ "You heard me. Stay with me."_

_ "Are you serious?"_

_ "Yes...Nancy, we've been together for three years, and we still haven't done anything. So, stay with me tonight."_

_ She paled. "I can't."_

_ He glared at her. "See what I mean? If Frank were to ask you, you'd do it...._

She sighed. The argument had gone to the point of her storming out of the house and not talking to him for a week.

Frank touched her chin, startling her out of the memory and causing her to look at him. He asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"When you said that Callie hadn't liked me for the fact that you and I worked really well together it triggered a memory." She answered.

"Care to share?"

She took a deep breath and said, "It was an argument between Ned and myself. I had just gotten home from that case that you, Joe, and I had solved in London. I went over to see him and he asked how the case went and I told him about running into you two and that you had helped me solve it even though you were supposed to be on vacation. He and I proceeded to get into an argument about you and he said that I would do things you asked but not him. I told him it wasn't true and then he asked me to stay with him that night."

"He wanted you to have sex with him?"

She nodded. "Yes. He said that we had been together for three years and we hadn't done anything. When I said I couldn't, he said that if you had asked me then I would."

"Nancy..." He didn't know what to say.

"But as it is, he's dead now, so it wouldn't really matter, would it?" She said bitterly. Impulsively, Frank reached over and pulled her into his arms. She finally broke down and cried.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Joe came back in from his walk, he noticed that Frank was sitting on the floor in front of Nancy's coffee table typing on his laptop.

"Hey, Frank." He greeted his brother. "Where's Nancy?"

"She's asleep. She just had a crying jag and it wore her out. She looked like she needed to cry." Frank replied as he stopped typing. He looked up at the wall in front of him and sighed. He had absolutely no idea how to bring Nancy's light back. He had never seen her in so much pain and it killed him to think that Ned could have done something to hurt her.

"She looks just like Bess and George said she would." Joe said as he sat down in a recliner. "I tried to think of ways to help bring back her light to help, while I was out walking, and I couldn't think of anything."

Frank nodded and moved to sit on the couch. "I know what you mean. You can tell she's trying to push it all behind her, but she's not doing too great at that. I know she's struggling because of who it was she had to kill."

"Maybe we shouldn't tell her that Bess and George called us." Joe said.

"I was thinking the same thing, little brother." Frank replied, "I think it'll help her to talk to us on her own time than having to know that we know."

"Too bad this isn't a vacation." Joe yawned and stretched. "It'd be so much easier just to take the girls out to pizza and a movie."

"Unfortunately, unless we help Nancy, I don't think that will be a good thing anytime soon." Frank said.

"Wrong, I'm just a concerned friend, like Bess and George." Joe smirked. "You're the one who has to help bring her light back."

"You can try to help too, Joe." Frank shot back, feeling slightly irritated. He knew it was just because he didn't know how to help Nancy. It was making him irritable.

"I can try, Frank." Joe stood up and headed to the kitchen. The flight had made him hungry. "But we all know that the only one here who is going to really help her is you."

"Everyone has all the faith in the world in me." Frank muttered putting his head in his hands. Would they all continue to have faith in him if he told them he didn't know what to do? He had always seen Nancy as a pillar of strength. But then again, she didn't always have someone close to her betraying her.

When Joe came back in with a sandwich he noticed that his brother was very agitated with what was going on. Not that he could blame Frank because if the love of his life were in the state of mind Nancy was in, he wasn't sure what he would do.

"Frank," He said sitting by his brother on the couch, "I know you don't know what to do, and if I were your position I would probably feel the same way, but I do know that you'll figure out what to do and then everything will work out from there."

"Thanks Joe." Frank replied.

"The rest of us, well, we'll try and help, but we don't really know what we're doing because we don't love Nan the way you do. For the rest of us, she's like our sister."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I wish I knew where to start. All I can do is wait for Nancy to tell me about Ned."

"If she can." Joe finished eating his sandwich and stood up. "Well, I'm heading to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Night, Joe." Frank said absently, "Oh, your room is the one at the far end of the hall. We put your stuff in there."

"Thanks." Joe started to head for his room when a loud crash through the window had Frank and him turning and looking for the culprit.

Frank hurried to the object that sat on the floor near the window. It was a brick. _How typical,_ he thought,_ don't they ever come up with something new? Why does it always have to be a brick?_

"What's going on?" Nancy demanded as she came charging out of her room with a pistol in her hand. She had been sleeping relatively well, thanks to her crying jag, and suddenly she had been jerked out of sleep by a crash.

"This." Frank held up the brick and noticed that there was a paper tied to it. "It has a note."

"Isn't that typical." Nancy said coming down the stairs.

"What's it say?" Joe asked as he and Nancy both joined Frank by the window.

He untied the note from the brick and looked at it:

_Murdering bitch. You'll pay for killing him,_

Nancy read it and started shaking. This wasn't happening, was it? She hoped it was just a bad dream. Unconsciously she reached up and pinched herself. The pain from her pinch told her she was in reality.

"Well..." She said weakly, "I guess we'll just have to be on the lookout for someone trying to get to me, won't we?"

AN: It doesn't seem right not to have a mystery in there, does it?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Okay, Nancy, we'll take care of this." Joe said comfortingly. He gave her a brotherly hug and looked at the note. "Do you know who this person is talking about?" He knew that he and Frank had to pretend that they didn't know anything about Ned.

"They're talking about Ned." She answered watching Frank make the phone call to the police.

"Ned?" Joe hated feigning confusion with his friend...especially when she was a detective as well. 

She nodded. "Yes, Ned. He was the mastermind behind museum thefts happening all around River Heights and in self defense I was forced to shoot him."

"The shot killed him." Joe stated and almost looked away as his friend hung her head down in shame and nodded. He reached over and gave her another hug. "Nancy, if he did that, then you did what you had to do."

"The police are on their way." Frank said coming up to them. He put an arm around Nancy's shoulders and squeezed tightly, letting her know that he was there for her in every way he could be. She leaned into him as if she needed the support.

"I'll call your father." Joe said, sensing that he should leave them alone for a minute or two.

"Thank you, Joe." Nancy said quietly. 

Before he walked away he gave Frank a worried look, who in turn gave him the same look. This person really had Nancy shaken up. It didn't seem right to either of them because she usually was one to take the initiative when it came to things like this. It felt almost wrong for her to be seeming like the damsel in distress. While they both understood what was going on inside her, they still couldn't help but notice that Bess and George were right. The light she possessed was pretty much gone.

Joe dialed Carson Drew's home number and waited until someone picked up. The person sounded like they had been in a deep sleep when they groggily said, "Hello?"

"Mr. Drew?" Joe asked, pretty sure that he had gotten Nancy's father. The last time he had talked to Hannah, she didn't sound masculine.

"Yes?"

"It's Joe Hardy."

"Ah, yes, Joe. What can I do for you at nearly two in the morning?"

"My brother and I came to town to–visit Nancy and after she had gone to bed someone threw a brick through the window with a note attached to it." He answered.

"What did it say?" Joe could hear Carson curse under his breath once he heard what the note had said. "I'll be there soon."

"Thank you sir." He looked back over at his brother and Nancy and said, "Your father is on his way. Do you want me to call anyone else?"

Nancy shook her head as Frank rubbed her back in soothing motions. If it weren't for the fact that she knew she had another case to work on, then she would be completely relaxed by the way Franks hands were moving around her back. Unfortunately, she knew she had another case to do and she wasn't too thrilled because it linked to the one about the museum thefts and Ned. Well, mainly Ned but it didn't change the fact that she was going to have a difficult time doing this case. She wasn't even sure she could do it. The thought of moving away briefly came across her mind again. It had been coming across her mind a lot.

Frank held Nancy tightly even after the police showed up. Chief McGinnis was with them. He walked over to the two who stood near the broken window. "Nancy, what happened?"

She looked up at him and said, "Someone's harboring a grudge about what happened with Ned."

He sighed. "Nancy, I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be, Chief. I had a feeling it could happen. I just didn't think it would...it was foolish on my part to think that it wouldn't happen."

"Nan, there's nothing wrong with hoping it wouldn't happen." Frank said.

"We'll have someone look into this right away." Chief McGinnis said. He wanted to keep Nancy away from this because he had seen her after they found her. She had had a haunted look about her and it had scared him. He had never seen her look so terrified or out of it as she had at that moment.

Before anyone could say anything, she replied, "No. I need to do this."

"Nancy, it would be best to have someone else to do it." McGinnis said.

"No."

He sighed and knew he wasn't going to win this argument. Nancy was too hard headed when it came to something like this. She wasn't going to just quit and let someone else take care of this for her. 

Carson Drew walked through the door and looked around. There was a group of people at the door and off to the side was Chief McGinnis and Frank holding his daughter. He looked at the window and saw the large hole sitting in the middle of it.

He was still observing things around him when Joe came up to him. "Mr. Drew."

"Hello, Joe." He looked at Joe. "May I ask what brought you and Frank down here really?"

"You wouldn't believe that we wanted to visit Nancy?"

"Under different circumstances, yes I would, however since this is so close to what has just happened to her, no I don't." He replied.

Joe gave a chuckle. "Alright sir, you have me. George and Bess called us. They wanted to see if Frank could do anything to help her."

Carson nodded. "Good. I think Frank will be able to help her." He glanced back at his daughter. "How is she doing?"

"She's shaken up...which is kinda scary considering this is Nancy we're talking about." Joe replied.

Her father nodded. "I know...after Ned died, she kept herself in her room for a couple of weeks and would barely come out at all. Then all of a sudden she came out and said she was going to buy an apartment. She went out and found this and bought it all in one shot. The rest of us figured that she just needed to be on her own in the sense that she felt she had to have her own place."

"I've never seen her look so out of it. It's like she's lost herself." Joe said. "I think Frank can help remind her who she is if she has lost herself."

"That's what I think as well." Carson gave a small grin. "I heard one of Nancy and Ned's fights. He was angry that she had gone to help the two of you and their argument resonated throughout the rest of the house. Hannah and I sat in the kitchen pretending not to hear, but I know both of us were listening in. Ned told Nancy that he didn't like the way Frank looks at her and he wanted her to stop working with you two. She told him she couldn't do that and he stormed out of the house. A few days later I called your father." He gave a wry smile. "It seems as though Frank and Callie had had a fight along the same terms."

"They fought a lot over Nancy." Joe agreed. "I know Frank and Nancy love each other, and I bet you do too."

"Yes." Carson sighed and looked back at his daughter. "Now let's see if that love can help bring Nancy back to herself again."

Nancy glanced over and saw her father standing with Joe near the door. She nudged Frank and they both headed over to where they stood. "Hi, dad."

"Hello, Nancy. Are you alright, dear?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes. I think as soon as I find whoever did this then I can rest easy."

"Perhaps it would be better if you come back home for the time being. That way you're not alone and have me and Hannah and the Hardys to keep you company."

Nancy shook her head. "No, dad. I don't want to risk anyone else. If you and Hannah are around then whoever is threatening me might try and do it through you two and I don't want to see anything happen to you two."

Carson, knowing his daughter was right, sighed. "Very well, but promise me that you'll keep someone with you at all times."

"Yes dad." She said very agreeably. She wasn't stupid. She knew she would feel better if there was someone with her in case something happened.

"Sir," Frank spoke up, "Joe and I will be here. Nancy said that we'll stay with her in her guest bedrooms. We'll be able to look after her as much as possible."

"Thank you, Frank." He said. "I trust that you two will take care of my daughter–especially you."

"Yes sir." Frank nodded.

Carson gave his daughter a big hug and said, "Take care of yourself and remember that you can come home any time you need to."

"I will, dad." She replied, returning his hug.

Chief McGinnis walked over to them and said, "Well, Nancy, we really can't do too much tonight, and the best thing I can offer is to tell you to get a goodnights sleep and don't come into work today. Just try and take it easy...or work on this case in your own Drew and Hardy ways that the three of you do." His last sentence made them laugh. Everyone in the room knew that the three of them were not apt to listen to people when someone told them not to do something.

After everyone left, Frank put Nancy to bed and proceeded to sit in a chair near her window. He wasn't letting her out of his sight as much as possible. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

Nancy laid there and knew she wasn't going to get to sleep for awhile yet. It was a comfort to know Frank was there making sure nothing happened. She sighed and turned on her back to him knowing she wasn't ready to get any sleep for fear of nightmares.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning found the brothers and Nancy at her office. Nancy had refused to not come in that day and had felt more of an obsessive need to finish her report. She had a small hope that if she got her report done, then perhaps the person who was out to get revenge would disappear. She knew it was silly but she felt as though she needed to cling onto that false hope.

Frank and Joe were going over the reports that the museums had given the police when their art had been stolen. They had given Nancy peace by working in the office right across the hall from hers. They did however tell her that she had to leave her door open and left the office door they were occupying open as well. Every once and a while one of them would look and see how she was doing. More often than not it was Frank.

"Hey, Frank, look at this." Joe said holding up a piece of paper. 

"What is it, Joe?"

"This report from the River Heights Museum says that their first robbery happened in July." He answered.

"Okay." Frank looked at his brother, concerned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The date on this says that it was the 15th of July." Joe pointed to the date. His eyes twinkled with excitement. "This means the robberies had started before Nancy came back to River Heights. She was still with us in London, remember? The three of us didn't come back to the states until the end of July."

Frank felt like he could have slapped himself. If that had happened, then when Nancy and Ned had had their argument then Ned would have already been over the edge as it was. He had never pictured Ned being the sort to ask Nancy to have sex with him unless they were going to be married, but if he was already stealing the jewels from the museums, then he would have been over the edge and willing to do anything. The only thing that made a problem was Nancy not talking to him for a week.

Somehow, after hearing what Joe said made things more obvious to him even though he hadn't seen it the night before.

"Ned was already going mad when Nancy came home." Frank mused out loud. "He would have had to cover it up so she wouldn't notice. That makes him a damn good actor."

"Too good." Joe replied. "It doesn't make sense that he never slipped up before."

"Yes it does." His brother answered leaning back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head. "He dated a detective. He had seen how she works and would know how to get around her."

"Yet, he slipped up, only once."

"It might not have actually been him. From the sounds of it, he would have had accomplices. It would be hard to embezzle jewels without having the right people to help him." Frank ran a hand through his hair. "If he had the right people then it would have had to have been one of his accomplices. Ned dated Nancy for so long that he would have known how to avoid getting caught. That doesn't say the same thing for his accomplices though."

"They would have known how to avoid getting caught too, especially if they're professionals." Joe said.

"True...but we've dealt with bigger professionals than these guys and they managed to slip up as well." Frank replied. He leaned forward and looked at some of the evidence that was on the desk. A security tape, and a business card that said "Norseckin Plastics."

"This is an interesting business card..." Frank mused as he looked at it. "I didn't think there was such a thing as Norseckin Plastics in River Heights."

"There isn't." A new voice said. The brothers turned their heads and saw Chief McGinnis standing there looking at them.

"There isn't? Then this place was just a cover up." Frank stated.

"Yes it was." McGinnis walked into the office and shut the door. "I want you two to take over as much as possible on this case as you can. I don't want Nancy having to do very much in the way of this case."

"She might not listen to us." Joe replied.

"There's no might." Frank sighed. "She won't. She's going to see this as a way to close this whole thing even though she might get herself hurt in the process."

"Right, but I want you to try and keep her from doing as much as she normally would. I think it's important for her to stay away from this as much as she can given the circumstances." Chief McGinnis said.

"She can't stay away as much as anyone would like." Joe said. "All of us would love to keep her from this completely, but she's Nancy and mysteries come to her like flies to honey."

"That's bees to honey, Joe." Frank said.

"Whatever, same thing." He answered waving his brother off.

"I hope Frank and Joe can help Nancy." George said as she and Bess sat down for lunch. They waited for the waiter to take their orders before continuing their conversation.

"So do I. Joe called me this morning and said someone broke Nancy's window." Bess told her cousin.

"What? What happened?" George shook her head after Bess finished telling her what Joe had said. "This is ridiculous. Whoever this person is is going to be caught. Especially if they try anything. Nancy won't settle for it."

"No, she won't." Bess agreed. "But I don't think it's a good idea for her to be on this case at all. She just needs to take a break altogether."

"Yes she does." Her cousin said, "She won't though. Nancy will want to know who is behind it and try to stop them."

"I hope Frank and Joe can keep her from doing too much. It's hard to see her so....so...." Bess searched for the right way to describe her friend.

"Not her?" George suggested.

"Yes! Exactly!" Bess exclaimed as she saw their food arrive. "Now let's eat. We can go and see if we can kidnap Nancy from work and take her shopping."

"Yes let's eat, and good luck to us on getting Nancy to stop working for a little bit." George laughed and began eating.

Once they finished their lunch and paid for it, they headed to Bess's car. As they walked towards it they heard someone behind them. George, feeling uneasy, turned to see who it was. Bess copied her cousin and turned. Everything went black.

Nancy stretched in her chair and sighed. She wanted to get away from everything but she _had_ to find out who was doing this. It wouldn't die unless she did.

Her phone rang as Joe and Frank walked in. She picked it up, "Detective Drew."

"I've got your friends, _Detective._"

AN: I never read a story where Bess and George were taken and decided I should have that happen. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! It means a lot to me that everyone is enjoying my writing!!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hello all! I'm very sorry that I have taken so long to update this. I have college and work so my time is a bit hectic, but I was working on it here and there when I could. Today I made it a point to finish it so everyone could see what is happening. Thank you all for you're wonderful reviews and I'm very glad that you all enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys or the characters made up by the authors. The plot and any new characters are mine.

Chapter 7

Nancy stood with the phone frozen to her ear. They had George and Bess. "I've got your friends, _Detective."_ kept rolling through her mind even after the person had hung up.

"Nancy." Frank and Joe looked at her concerned. She hadn't said anything after answering the phone and from the look on her face something had happened.

"Nancy." Joe said waving a hand in front of her face.

"Nancy." Frank stepped forward and took the phone out of her hand and placed it back in the phone jack. She still looked like she was in a trance. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. She stared at him with a blank look. "Nancy, come on. Tell us what happened."

When he gave her a little shake, she seemed to come out of her trance. "Bess and George."

"What about them?" Joe asked.

"They have them." She answered and started shaking. Frank pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. She continued to talk. "I can't remember the last time they were taken to get to me. But they have them and they shouldn't have them...." She drifted off and began to cry. Everything seemed like it was happening so suddenly even though she had always moved at this sort of pace.

"Come on, Nan, I'm going to take you home." Frank said and grabbed her purse from her desk. Before she could say anything to argue he said, "And don't argue. You need to stay away from work right now."

"I'll stay and talk to Chief McGinnis." Joe said. "I'll meet you back at her place."

"That's fine, Joe." Frank nodded his head. "Just be careful. The last thing we need right now is for you to end up being taken like George and Bess."

"Yeah, I will." Joe said walking out of her office and walking down the hall to Chief McGinnis's office. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in."

He walked in and saw Chief McGinnis sitting by the window with a mug of coffee in his hand. "What can I help you with?"

"Bess and George have been taken by the person after Nancy." Joe said standing next to his desk.

McGinnis sighed and said, "I was afraid of this. Where is Nancy now?"

"Frank took her home and told her no ifs ands or buts." Joe replied.

"Good." The Chief said standing up. "I hate to do this to her but I think we're going to have to give her a bodyguard for the time being."

"If you don't mind my say so sir," Joe looked at Chief McGinnis, "I think we'd be better off if Frank acted like a body guard. Nancy is more likely to take to him than to anyone else, including myself."

"Yes, that's true." McGinnis walked to his desk and handed Joe another file. "These are all the people we apprehended when we had finally gotten to Nancy."

Joe flipped through the folder quickly. "There are quite a number of names in here. It makes Ned seem like he was a big time boss."

"He was." The Chief sat down and rubbed his eyes. He really just wanted to go home and be with his wife right now, but he knew he had to help find Nancy's stalker in every way he could. He looked back up at Joe and said, "From the looks of the place Ned was working the thefts he rose to being the boss very fast. He knew what he was doing."

"My guess is it's because of who he was dating." _Bastard,_ Joe thought. The fact that anyone could do that to his friend made him angry. Nancy wasn't someone to mess with and Ned should have known that. He was a smart person. Well, he had been a smart person. Once he had started his criminal life, he probably became a stupid person for trying to go against Nancy.

"Yes, that's what most of us believe, including Nancy." The tired chief looked at Joe and gave the young man the impression of a grandfather who should be at home spoiling his grandchildren, not here at the station trying to make sure one of his best detectives didn't lose her min.

"We'll get down to the bottom of this sir, I promise." Joe smiled. "After all, you've got the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew working on the case."

Smiling at Joe's attempt to lighten the mood, McGinnis leaned back in his chair, "Unfortunately, if these threats don't stop, then you're going to have only the Hardy's working on it."

"Hey, my brother and I have solved a great number of cases without Nancy. If we have to we can do this one as well." The young blonde kept smiling as he left the Chief's office. When he got back to Nancy's office, he looked around and frowned.

How had things gone wrong with Ned? If was so unhappy with the way things were, then why hadn't he just broken up with her? Why make such a fuss? To become Nancy's first priority by becoming evil? It didn't make sense.

A knock on the office door had Joe jumping slightly. He laughed slightly and moved to open the door. When he saw who was on the other side, he gaped.

Frank looked over at Nancy and sighed. Exhaustion had seemed to become her best friend and it was taking her over. She already looked like she was going to drop right there on the spot. He wanted to get her to her apartment so she could get some sleep. Preferably away from all the windows. The last thing they needed was for her to get brick flying through her bedroom window straight at her.

"Nan, I've been thinking," He looked straight at the road. It was raining out, and he wanted to make sure they didn't end up in the hospital because he couldn't pay attention to the road.

"What about?" She asked softly.

"Maybe it would be a good idea if you went to your dad's house. He and Hannah will always be there to look out for you and–"

"No." She shook her head. "Bess and George were taken from me and they don't live with me. I can't have my dad or Hannah taken from me with me staying with them. I could lose you or Joe to whoever is behind these attacks. I'm not going to risk any more people than I absolutely have to. Especially not you." The last part came out as small whisper so that she could only hear it.

"I understand what you're saying." Frank wove through traffic careful of the oncoming cars and the rain that seemed to be intent on getting worse.

"Then please, don't ask me to stay with my father. I couldn't lose him. He's my only living relative."

"Alright," He reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I won't ask you anymore."

She looked down at their hands and squeezed his back. Things seemed to feel better when he was around her. Nancy felt as though things were going to work out just fine, and that made her happy.

"Why did you and Callie break up?" She was trying to get her mind off of the things that were plaguing her.

"I told you, we had too many differences." _Because I'm in love with you and everyone in Bayport could see it,_ he thought desperately.

"Besides me, what were they?"

Realizing that she had to talk about something other than what was going on with her, he reluctantly began to talk. "She wanted to get married soon, and I knew I wasn't ready to get married yet. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could see myself marrying her. She wanted to move to New York and set up a fashion agency and I didn't want to go to New York and help her. Callie knew that I wanted to continue being a detective, and she couldn't handle that. It seemed to make her angry and it caused a lot of fights."

"Would you have stopped if she asked you to?"

He thought for a moment. "No, I don't believe I would have. I love what I do. I think it's helping to keep our streets safe from criminals. It's like the military keeping our country safe. I'm just down on a smaller scale trying to keep the streets safe and keep families together."

Nancy smiled. "I think of it that way too."

Frank returned her smile.

Joe stared at the woman standing in Nancy's office flabbergasted. How did she get here? What did she want?

"Well, Joe, say something." She said to him.

"You're pregnant." Was all he could say. She was very pregnant in fact. She looked like she was nearly seven months pregnant.

She smiled. "Yes, I am."

"How..."

"Joe, you're not ignorant of how children are created, are you?"

"No, but it doesn't make sense, I mean....he wouldn't...not until he was married...."

"Oh, I know, but these things happen. One night of passion and no thinking can do a lot."

"So I noticed." He said dryly. He sank into Nancy's chair and ran his hands through his hair. What was he going to do? How was he supposed to handle something like this? It was too much, and it wasn't fair to make him have to do this. He didn't want to do it.

"Cat got your tongue?" The lady teased.

He lifted his head up and glared at her. "No."

"Well, you can start by not looking so dumbfounded."

He stood up and motioned to her stomach. "Your pregnant! How the _hell_ do you expect me to act? Joyful? Well, I'm not. I am _dumbfounded_, as you have put it and I'm not exactly thrilled being in the position I'm in."

"Oh, you're not in any position." She replied airily.

"Really? How would you explain it then?"

"You simply know that I'm pregnant. That's not anything bad to know."

Throwing his hands up in frustration he turned and looked out the window. Turning back around he glowered at the woman. He thought she was out their lives, but she came back full on and looked ready to destroy any oncoming relationships.

"Does Frank know? Is it his?" He demanded.

Callie Shaw smirked. "No, he doesn't know. It's not his; it's Ned Nickerson's."


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Ah! See another chapter out in one day! I had the day off and I'm procrastinating on homework, lol. I love this story, and the turns I'm giving it. I hope you all love it too :)

Chapter 8

Frank pulled off to the side of the road and got out of the car. Halfway back to Nancy's apartment, the car had decided to be a pest and give them problems. Now he had to get out into the rain and check the engine.

Nancy watched as he opened the hood of the car. She felt bad that he had to get out in the rain, but she did have to admit she didn't mind the sight of him soaking wet. The thought made her feel a little guilty since it hadn't been long ago that she and Ned were still together.

She sighed and looked out the window and her mind wandered....

_"So, I see you've found out about us." The man in the said. She couldn't see his face. There was something familiar about his voice that she couldn't place. Something very distinctive in the way he talked to her._

_"You're not going to get away with this." She replied._

_The man laughed. The room was barely lit and the only lamp that did light the room was shining directly at her, keeping the rest of the room completely in the dark._

_"How often have you said that? Every case perhaps?" He continued to laugh. "For once, there is someone who managed to stump you on a case, and all because they know how you work. They've studied you."_

_"Care to tell me who it is?" She asked as she tried to undo the ropes that bound her to the chair._

_"You'll find out soon enough." The man's laughter died down. "You can keep trying to undo those ropes. They're not easy to get undone. We know how tight to tie them so that you can't escape."_

_There were footsteps and then a door opened and shut. She was alone. This disconcerted her. She wanted to know who had betrayed her. George and Bess wouldn't. They had grown up together. Could it have been Brenda? She was always after a scoop and wanted to follow Nancy around. Had she given Nancy away just to get a story?_

_Nancy desperately struggled against her ropes. She hated being tied up with no way to get out of it. She wished Frank was with her. Together they could get out of any situation. She missed him and would have loved for him to be with her on this case. She loved working with him and just...loved him. Nancy sighed and stopped struggling with her ropes. Her head hung and she thought _of all the times to realize I love Frank, I do it when I'm trying to escape some place._ Shaking her slightly and giving a grim laugh, she continued to struggle with her ropes._

_Before she could try and finish getting her ropes undone, the door opened and two men came in. One pulled a blindfold around her eyes and the other one cut her ropes of her ankles and wrists._

_"I told you that you wouldn't be able to get your ropes undone." The man who was talking to her earlier had come back. "Our boss wants to see you now."_

_They led her to another room and sat her down on something soft. She couldn't quite tell what it was. The men who had brought her here grabbed her arms and pulled her backwards. She felt something cold and iron against her back. She felt something go around each of her wrists. Handcuffs, she realized. They were handcuffing her._

_"Are you going to take the blind fold off?" She asked. She was starting to get concerned with what was happening._

_"All in due time." They bound her legs so she couldn't try and kick them to get away and then they weren't doing anything. She heard foot steps and then a door shut. She was alone again. At least she thought she was._

_"Hello, Nancy."_

_She picked her head up at the voice. "Ned?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Ned, you have to help me get out of here." She squirmed impatiently. "See if you can find a key to unlock these cuffs."_

_"I don't think so, Nancy." He walked over and took of the blindfold._

_"What? Ned, I don't understand." She looked up at him confused._

_"They told you that their boss wanted to see you, right?" When she nodded, he bent down and kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I'm their boss."_

_She jerked her head back and looked at him. "That's not possible! Ned, you'd never do something like that."_

_"I wouldn't? How would you know? You're never here with me. You don't know what's going on inside of my head. You're always out with Frank Hardy solving some case or another case." He glared at her. "It's amazing isn't it? I become the bad guy and then I become your first priority. I should have always been your first priority!" He shouted at her._

_Nancy was scared. This wasn't the Ned she knew. What had happened to him..._

Nancy's mind was snapped back into the present when Frank opened the car door and got in. He was soaking wet and grumbling about the engine trying to kill him. He looked so cute that she couldn't help but laugh. Once she started laughing, she couldn't stop. Frank looked at her curious to know what she was laughing at. When she pointed at him and continued laughing all he could do was roll his eyes and smile. He was glad she was laughing again and he wasn't too inclined to stop her yet.

"Ready to go home?" He asked. She nodded and continued laughing.

When they finally got back to the apartment they were both surprised to see Joe there already.

"Joe, I thought you were going to be at the station for awhile longer." Frank said.

His younger brother noticed that Nancy had a smile on her face and could tell she had been laughing. Giving her a small smile he said, "I had some unexpected company at the station and thought you should find meet them."

"Really? Who?" Nancy looked around hoping it would be someone who could help them with their case.

"Me." Frank turned and saw Callie walking out of the kitchen with a frozen yogurt in her hand. His jaw dropped when he saw that she was pregnant.

"How...we never..." He looked ready to faint, Nancy noticed. _Has she come here to try and get Frank back?_ Nancy wondered. If the baby was Frank's then he would no doubt go back to her. He was too noble to let someone bear his child while he ignored it. Her heart fell. When Frank had shown up last night she had felt her heart grow lighter. Not as light as it had been, but it felt happy. She knew that Frank was going to help her and that she would be able to let go of what had happened.

Callie chuckled. "You and Joe are almost exactly alike. Well, your brothers so it's not really a surprise." Looking at Nancy and then at Frank as he moved closer to Nancy, she smirked. "Don't worry, the baby isn't yours. I won't ruin your relationship with Ms. Nancy Drew."

"Then whose is it?" Frank demanded.

"I don't think you want to know." Joe muttered.

Nancy heard him and looked at him questioningly. When he simply shook his head, she turned her attention to Callie. "Whose baby is it?"

Callie's smirk turned into a nasty smile. "Ned Nickerson's."

"What!" Nancy looked ready to faint. Frank wrapped an arm around her waist and to make sure she didn't fall. "How? When?" Was all the female detective seemed to be able to ask.

"I'm sure you know how babies are born." Callie said smartly. "As for when, well, you and Frank and Joe were in Rome solving a case, and Ned had some business in New York, and I was there visiting a cousin. We ran into each other and had a lovely affair."

"You were still with me when I was in Rome." Frank said with his voice lowering to a deadly tone.

"Yes, I was." Callie looked at him, daring him to say something.

"I _never_ did anything like that to you!" His voice was sharp. Nancy looked at him in surprise. She didn't blame him for being as angry as he was. Betrayal was a hard thing to accept for anyone.

"No, and that does make you better than me." She smiled at Nancy and Frank. "Though, you could consider the two of you kissing cheating."

"That was just kissing. Something both of us regretted doing because we were both very loyal to you and to Ned!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Yes, well, you shouldn't have left us alone for so long then should you?" Callie looked at them. "I doubt you two would ever know the passion of love that I felt when we were in one another's arms."

If Ned were alive and in the room, Frank would have hit him. He knew Callie was doing this to try and grate on his nerves, and she knew it was working. Everyone in the room knew it was working. He hated being betrayed and it was one of the biggest taboos to not break with him. He didn't forgive something like that very easily and he was a pretty mild man when it came to temperaments.

"Stop trying to goad us into an argument." Nancy said, tired of Callie's games. She could tell what Frank's ex-girlfriend was up to. "Tell us what you want."

"I want Ned." She said simply. "I can't find him at his old apartment."

Nancy and Frank exchanged a look and Nancy turned to Callie and said flatly, "He's dead."

Shock covered Callie's face. "How? Who did it? Who?"

"I did." Nancy said quietly.

"You!" The pregnant woman looked ready to kill. "He cared for you!"

"Not enough though." Nancy shot back. "Not enough if he could start a burglary gang and have me kidnaped and then try to rape me or try and kill me! I killed him self defense! He was insane! He wasn't the Ned any of us knew! He was almost pure evil and what I did was in self defense! Don't tell me that he cared for me! He thought he should be my first priority so to get the attention he became the bad guy! It's not my fault he's dead!" When she finished shouting everything seemed to fall off her shoulders. It wasn't her fault. It really wasn't. Now it felt that the only things that plagued her was what Ned had tried to do to her, not what she had been _forced_ to do.

"The–the bad guy?" Callie looked overly shocked. She shook her head as if trying to erase everything that Nancy had just said to her. "Not possible...it's not...." She looked at the three people standing in front of her. "I have to go." She hurried out of the door.

"I think I'd better make sure she doesn't fall over or something." Joe said leaving the room.

"Nancy." Frank looked down at the woman who was still leaning against his arm for support. "You said...you said Ned tried to _rape_ you."

"I know." She looked down. "He might have succeeded if he had remembered how much martial arts training I've had.. I feel dirty..."

"You're not!" The fierceness of his voice made her look up at him. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You're not dirty! I swear to you on my life!"

"But–"

"No! What he tried to do was wrong! You got away from him! He can't do that to you again, Nan. Never." Frank kissed her forehead. "Never. I'll keep you safe from his demons."

She smiled and then yawned. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yawn."

"It's alright. I know how tired you are." He grinned. "Why don't you go and lay down to get a nap? Try sleeping on the couch. Joe and I can keep an eye on you so no one can get to you."

"Not even the boogie man?" She asked with a smile.

"Not even him." He watched her walk to the couch and lay down. She kicked off her shoes and stretched out and sighing at the comfort of the couch. She fell asleep quickly.

Walking over to her, Frank pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and covered Nancy up and kissed her on the cheek. Whispering to her softly he said, "I love you."


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Thank you to all who have been patient with me. This AN might look different because I realized I had a typo in here and made it a point to take care of it. SO, thanks again, and I will begin working on the next chapter ASAP. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 9

Nancy woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. For the first time in weeks she smiled a genuine smile and got out of bed. Whoever was making breakfast was going to be praised by her. It meant she didn't have to do it and she could sit there watching Frank or Joe do it.

She stood up and got dressed in a pair of flair jeans and sapphire blue tank top. Pulling her hair into a pony tail she walked downstairs.

"That smells delicious!" She exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped dead when she saw who was using her stove. Callie.

The pregnant woman looked over at Nancy and gave a smile. "Good morning."

"What do you want?"

"I came to apologize for what happened last night." Callie replied. She patted her round stomach. "It's hormones. I don't know how to control them but I do know that what happened last night was very much uncalled for by me."

"I'm not sure why you're making breakfast in my kitchen." Nancy said looking at her suspiciously. What exactly was this woman up to, she wondered.

"I thought I would make you breakfast as a way of saying I'm sorry." She dished out the eggs and bacon onto a plate and put it on the table.

Nancy walked over to the table and sat down in front of the plate of food. She looked at it skeptically.

"I didn't do anything to it if that's what you're thinking." Callie said as she poured her juice and handed her a fork.

The door to the apartment unlocked and Frank walked through calling out, "Nancy? Are you awake?"

"I'm right here." She answered. When Frank looked at her and saw Callie his face looked like it had been carved out of stone.

"What is she doing here?" He asked while beginning to glare at his ex- girlfriend.

"She came to make breakfast." Nancy said meekly. She had never seen him change emotions so fast and it was scaring her.

"I cam to apologize." Callie answered him. "My behavior was uncalled for last night, and I felt that Nancy deserved an apology no matter how much I might dislike her for taking you away from me."

"Well, you made it so you can leave now." Frank replied curtly.

"Really, Frank, that's no way to behave–"

"Out!"

Callie picked up her purse off of the couch. "Have a nice day Nancy," as she walked by Franks she whispered, "This isn't over."

He glared at her until the door to Nancy's apartment was shut. When it was, he rounded on Nancy. "Why did you let her in?"

"I didn't. She was in here when I woke up." Nancy said starting to feel nervous with how upset Frank was getting.

He nodded and paced around the living room. "What did she want, I wonder."

"She said she came to apologize."

He snorted his disbelief. "I hardly believe that. While she might have apologized, she's got something on her mind that she isn't sharing. She's up to something."

"Frank–what's wrong?" Nancy knew it was stupid but she didn't know what to do or say.

"What's wrong? She," He motioned to the door angrily, "Lied to me and slept with Ned! Why aren't you more angry about it?"

"Ned wasn't the person I thought he was." She replied quietly. "Right now I can't see him at all because of what he has done."

Frank looked at her and then sighed. He sat down at the kitchen table beside her. "You're right. It's been so long since I've seen Callie that I over reacted myself. She cheated on me, yes, and I can't do anything about it now."

"Do you think you should apologize to her?" Nancy asked taking her fork and absently scooping up scrambled eggs and taking a bite of them.

He shook his head. "No, I still believe something is up. When she walked past me she whispered that something wasn't finished."

"Well, I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for her then." Nancy looked up realizing she hadn't seen Joe since she had woken up. "Where is Joe?"

"He went to the gym." Frank said absently. "He was working a lot on the case last night and he wanted to get it all off of his mind."

"You didn't go with him?" Nancy asked. "I would have thought you would have been helping your brother all night as well."

Frank chuckled. "No, as much as I love cases like you, I was not helping Joe all night."

"What were you doing?"

"Watching you all night." He answered looking at her. "I wasn't going to let anything happen to you."

Nancy looked away from him so he wouldn't see the tears that had welled up in her eyes. It had been a long time since she had felt that safe and secure with someone. She remembered what it had first been like with Ned, but it had faded and she never noticed. And here was Frank, who was ready and willing to give her the love she needed and wanted. She didn't know how much she craved him, but she knew that he would let her have the time she needed to find out.

When she looked back at him he had to force himself to not grin like a child. He saw part of the old Nancy coming back out. Her light was coming back.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: So, this chapter was originally Chapter 9, but since I couldn't remember where I had put the complete fanfic that I've written so far. I just went in and changed a few things so WA-LA! Here is chapter 10 :) Everyone enjoy :)

Chapter 10

He told her that he loved her. Nancy hadnt been completely asleep when he had said it the previous night. She hadn't been able to give it much thought after Callie had arrived. It warmed her insides up hearing him tell her that. She knew he felt the same way she did. But she wasnt ready for a relationship like that. Not yet, at least not until she had managed to face all of her demons. She couldnt jump straight into a relationship with demons plaguing her. As she let herself fall asleep she wondered if she would ever be ready for a relationship.

Now she was sleeping on the couch as she heard the two brothers talk. Joe had spent the entire day at the police station once he was done at the gym and now he and Frank were talking while Nancy got some more sleep. She and Frank hadn't left the apartment all day because they thought that if Callie had managed to get, which they still weren't sure how she had, then they wanted to catch anyone else.

So now, Nancy was going to sleep very peacefully for the night.

Frank sat near Nancys dining room table. He had told Nancy that he loved her and he hadnt lied. What was worse was that he wasnt ready to jump into a relationship yet. The sudden light on the betrayal Callie had just shown them felt like having the wind knocked out of him. He knew that he didnt love her on the same level that he loved Nancy.

"Hey, Frank." Joe came and sat down beside his brother. When he had walked into the apartment he had seen Nancy fast asleep on the couch and Frank brooding by the window.

"Joe."

"Its upsetting, isnt it?" Joe asked.

"What? To find out that my former girlfriend cheated on me? Yeah, its a little disconcerting." Was the reply.

"I cant argue with you there. She nearly gave me a heart attack when she came into Nancys office."

"She doesnt seem like the Callie we know, does she?"

"No, but then, Frank, you kept your distance from her as much as you could. Since she pretty much disappeared after the two of you had broken up, then it wouldnt have been hard not to notice that she was pregnant."

Frank chuckled dryly. "For once, little brother, you sound like the wise one."

"I saw the shock on your face, and Nancys when Callie said whose baby it was."

"Shes always been a good actress. Frank mused out loud. "Do you think she really didnt know that Ned was dead?"

"I dont know. We havent seen her in a while, so she could have changed. She might have known, or she might not have."

AIf she knew, then maybe she had been working with him. Frank said as he looked out the window again. "She came by this morning, when you and I were both out of the apartment."

"What?!" Joe forced himself to keep quiet so he wouldn't wake Nancy.

Frank nodded. "Yeah. She came to apologize to Nancy for her behavior last night. When I kicked her out she said 'this isn't finished.' So I think something is up. I just can't figure it out."

"Well, hopefully we'll find something out. I didn't find anything out." Joe said. "I'm exhausted though. I never knew someone could have as many files as Nancy does."

Frank chuckled. "Good night Joe."

George squirmed around in her seat. She hated feeling so helpless. She had no way of getting out of these bonds that were holding her down. All the things Nancy had taught her about getting out of ropes werent working. She knew Bess was in here because she could hear her cousins occasional sniffle. They were both scared and it made George even more scared knowing that Nancy wasnt with them. She would have been trying to find a way out from the second they had been kidnapped.

A door opened and lights were switched on. George could feel the light through the blindfold and mentally screamed because she couldn'tt see anything. She heard a scuffle and a gasp from her cousin beside her.

When the person came to her and took off her blindfold, she was ready to give them a piece of her mind. As she looked up at the person, her jaw dropped. "Ned?!"

Nancy woke up feeling relaxed. Somehow getting everything out of her system the way she had made her feel somewhat better. The fact that Ned had tried to rape her and kill her still left a burden, but that was something she knew she was going to have to face. Knowing it would take awhile to face that made her slightly sad, but also knowing Frank was helping her deal with that made her glad.

She sat up and looked around for Frank. She didn't see him anywhere. Concerned, she got up and walked around her apartment. When she couldn't find him, she began to panic and started running through her place, frantically looking for Frank. Only when she crashed into Joe and fell on her bottom did she stop running.

"Nancy, are you alright?" He asked as he helped her stand.

Moving her reddish blonde hair out of the way, she looked around. "I cant find Frank."

"He went to get us some breakfast." Joe smiled. "Im sorry, I was sitting next to you and I had to go to the restroom. So, I got up and went and when I came back out, you weren't sleeping anymore."

"Sorry." She looked down feeling embarrassed.

"Dont worry about it." He gave her shoulders a brotherly squeeze. "Lets go talk. We havent really had a chance to catch up."

"Sure." She smiled. "But I would like to change clothes first." She ran into her room and grabbed a pair of clothes out of her dresser and ran down the hall to change. She wasnt going to stay where someone could see what she was doing. Nancy knew it was smarter for her to go down the hall to change instead of staying in her own room to do it.

When she came back out, Joe was sitting at the table leafing through the newspaper. She sat down across from him and looked at him. He was still the carefree Joe she had always known, but something new was there.

"How is Vanessa?" Nancy asked.

"She's fine. Shes spending time with some cousins in the Alps." Joe looked over at her and gave his classic charming grin. "When did you realize that you are in love with Frank?"

"When I was tied to a chair and struggling to get out of the ropes that bound me." Nancy said so frankly that she caused Joe to start laughing. She gave him a look before she realized how funny it sounded and she began to laugh also.

After they had calmed down Joe looked at her like a brother would. "Nancy, Im glad you shouted everything at Callie. She might not have been the person to shout at, but Frank and I could see you were harboring a lot more in there than you should have. Im glad you realized it wasnt your fault."

She sighed. "I know its not, but the fact that I was the one who killed him still remains."

"It was self defense. You dont know what Ned would have done if he had lived." Joe gave her a reassuring look. "Give yourself time, Nancy, and youll realize how right you were when you shouted at Callie that it wasnt your fault."

"I hope so, Joe. I hope so." Nancy got up to pour herself a cup of coffee.

Joe looked at the door worried. "Frank was supposed to be here already. Its been nearly forty-five minutes since he left."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"The breakfast taco place right around the corner."

"Ah. Sometimes they do take awhile." Nancy smiled at him. "Dont worry, I imagine Frank will walk through the door any second."

As if on cue, Frank walked through the door carrying two large bags of tacos. "Sorry that took so long. They were really backed up there."

"Its alright, what did you bring me?" Joe demanded as his brother put the food on the coffee table.

"Food."

Joe dug into the bags and Frank came over to Nancy in the kitchen. "Are you alright? How did you sleep last night?"

"Im doing better. Im not at top shape yet, but I am doing better." She replied.

"Glad to hear that." Frank gave her an award winning smile that had her insides melting. "Are you up for any detective work today?"

"Yes, actually I am." She smiled and felt her detective instincts start to kick in. "I want to know what business Ned was doing in New York."

"Why?" Frank didn't like the reminder, but he knew Nancy was only going to do this if there was a purpose.

"If I can figure out what he was doing there, then perhaps I can find out who would have a grudge against me for his death." Nancy explained.

"That is a good plan." Frank mused over it for awhile thinking. He couldn't see any way it wouldn'tt help. The three of them together were bound to find out something.

"Yes, I thought so. And perhaps while were there well get some sort of lead on where George and Bess are."

"How do you figure?" Joe asked around a mouthful of food.

"Well, if the person he was doing business with is linked to any of this, then he is bound to have some idea of where Ned did his business, and there could have been more to what he was up to rather than just stealing things."

"You think so?" Frank asked.

Before Nancy could answer, the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Nan?" The voice on the other line sounded terrified.

"George?!"


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Hello all! I'm glad everyone is enjoying what I am doing with this story :) I'm doing my best to write as much as I can, but seeing as how the holiday season was here, I did have that to fight, hehe, well, enjoy!

Chapter 11

"George! Talk to me!" Nancy said urgently as Frank switched her phone over to speaker.

"Nancy, please...don't come looking for us!" Her friend begged.

"What? Why not?" She demanded.

"Please! Don't! You won't be able to handle it!" The three detectives heard noise on the other end and George cry out. Nancy bristled at the thought of her best friend being hurt.

"George, listen to me. We're going to find you!"

Before George said anything, the line went dead.

"Oh, damn it!" Nancy shouted suddenly more frustrated than she had ever been. What did George mean? Tears of frustration and a lump in her throat caused her not to say anything else. How was she going to help her friend when she didn't want to be found?

Frank instinctively pulled her into his arms and held onto her tightly. He knew how frustrated she was.

"Why wouldn't George want to be found?" Joe was staring at the phone with curiosity written all over his face. "It's not like her. She'd try and give you some clue as to where she is."

"I have no idea!" Nancy clutched the back of Frank's shirt. Her mind felt jumbled with different thoughts and she had no idea where to start to begin sorting them out.

"Maybe she is trying to protect you." Frank said quietly. She pulled her head back and looked at him. "Nan, there is someone ready to kill you because of what happened with Ned. George knows something now about where she is, and who has her. If she doesn't think you can handle it, then she is going to protect you for your sake. We would all do it."

"But...it's George and Bess." She whispered. "I grew up with them."

"I know, sweetheart," He kissed her gently, "And because of the fact that you grew up together, they are going to protect you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

George glared at the man. Her cheek stung and she could hear Bess whimpering near her.

"How dare you try to thwart my plans!" He snarled at her.

"You won't win!" She threw back at him.

Ned chuckled. "Nancy said the very same thing."

"She was right!"

"That time, yes, but this time, I will win. You can't stop me." Ned walked over to Bess and removed her blindfold.

She blinked for a few minutes and then looked up at him. "This isn't possible. Nancy killed you."

"That's what everyone thinks." He laughed insanely for several moments. "My poor parents must think that Nancy is a murdering bitch. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to show up and tell them that I'm alive and well."

"Insane is more like it!" Bess cried out as Ned's hand connected with her cheek, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. "How dare you! Nancy loved you!"

"Not as much as she does Frank." He said bluntly. "She'd do things for him she'd never do for me."

"Maybe you pushed the line."

He glared at the cousins. "Enough talking. You're to be quiet or I'll let my men have their way with you."

Their eyes widened in shock. This was _not_ the Ned they knew. He wasn't nearly this mean. Why was this happening?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Frank had lain Nancy down on the bed and had moved to sit on the chair in her room, but she had refused to let him go. She wanted him to stay with him, so now he was laying down beside her with his arms tightly holding her. She had worn herself out from crying and fallen asleep. It was almost as if hearing George tell her not to find her was putting Nancy back in the state of mind she was in early that day.

He had to admit that he was just as baffled by George's cryptic message as was Nancy. Although his state of mind was better than hers at the moment, he was still at a loss as to why George would beg Nancy not to find her. He figured he had the right of it when he told Nancy that George was trying to protect her. It wouldn't surprise him if she was. He would do whatever it took to protect her.

He sighed and looked at her. Her face looked discontent in her sleep. He would take her on a vacation once all this was over and hopefully she would get some much needed rest. He struggled not to laugh as he thought about Nancy relaxing on a vacation. None of them ever had a chance to enjoy a full vacation since they were always ending up on a case. Maybe he would just make sure that she didn't get wind of a mystery while she was there.

Her face scrunched up and she began to push him away from her. Nancy began to whimper and kick. "No..." She murmured in his sleep. He started to pull her closer again, but she became more frantic in her sleep and began to kick and shove.

"Nancy!" He cried, shaking her.

"No! Ned! Don't!" She shrieked before she suddenly woke. She looked at Frank and looked so lost and terrified that his heart almost broke.

"It was just a nightmare." He whispered, stroking her hair.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Frank, I'm sorry."

"I know. Don't worry about it."

"I just..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't know how to explain herself. She had thought she was being attacked. Where had that dream come from? She hadn't had that dream for a very long time.

"Shh," He hushed her. "It's alright. I'm not going to hold anything against you because you had a nightmare of something horrible that happened to you. If you didn't, I'd be worried." He smiled and kissed her gently. "Go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Joe looked up the next morning when Nancy came downstairs for breakfast. He smiled at his friend. "Hey, how did you sleep?"

She returned the smile, "Good. I wasn't expecting to, but good."

"Good news," He held up the newspaper, "We might have a lead on where Ned was hanging out."

She looked surprised and headed into the kitchen. She had to keep herself somewhat busy if she was going to do this. "How so?"

"Your old friend Brenda still writes for the paper, and she doesn't seem to mind putting things in here about her own friends, whether they've betrayed someone or not."

Nancy sighed and leaned on the counter, running her hands over her face. "In other words, we need to talk to Brenda. Does it say anything in her article in the paper about Ned, or anything like that?"

"Of course." Joe skimmed it again, "She can't resist getting a scoop, and apparently she's been talking to someone anonymously. She doesn't name names, surprisingly enough."

Nancy resisted laughing. Brenda was not known as a good reporter, nor was she known for not naming names. She had nearly gotten Nancy and Joe killed once on a case that she had botched up because she wanted a scoop.

"So, I guess we need go and talk to Brenda." She said.

Before Joe was able to reply, glass shattered upstairs from Nancy's bedroom and there was a crash followed by a gun shot.

Nancy ran to the stairs. "Frank!"


	12. Chapter 12

Wow, would you look at that? I managed to get another chapter out. I'm so proud of myself :) Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well :)

Chapter 12

Brenda smiled as she hung up the phone. She had gotten more information from her source of information. She liked being on the front page, and talking to someone who knew all about the art thefts was the best person to talk to. What was in her luck was that this person had found her, she didn't have to do any work to it.

"Hello, Brenda." Nancy walked through her office door and tossed a copy of the newspaper on her desk.

"Why, Nancy Drew," She smiled smugly, "I was wondering when you were going to come by and give me an interview."

"I'm not here for an interview," Came the detective's reply.

"Really? Would you like to me to sign your copy of the newspaper?" Brenda loved showing Nancy up when she could.

"No. I want to know who your contact is."

Her smile broadened. "That's classified."

"Someone has my brother, so you had damn well tell Nancy what she wants to know." Joe said walking through the door.

Brenda's smile never died from her face. With a chance to get another scoop, she wasn't about to pass anything up. "Really? Frank is missing? When did this happen?" Her hand felt for her tape recorder taped to the inside of her desk. She clicked it on.

"None of it is your business, but you'll do well to tell us who your contact is." Nancy snarled. When she and Joe had run up to her room and found Frank missing, anything that had made her hesitant in solving this case had disappeared. Now she was just mad and nothing was going to stop her from find Frank.

"I think I have the upper hand here." Brenda rested her chin on the back of her hand and continued smiling. "You see, I have the information you want. So you tell me everything I want to know, and I will be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know."

"It's not working like that." Joe snapped.

"Oh, I think it will. Without telling me anything, I tell you nothing." She retorted.

"Let me put it this way," Nancy leaned forward on Brenda's desk, "You don't tell us what we want to know, I'll sue you for that story. I'll tell the world that you made it all up. Think of what that will do to your career."

Her eyes widened at the threat Nancy had just delivered her. She had never had this threat from Nancy before. "Why should I let you know information and you give me nothing?"

"Because if you don't, I'll go to your daddy and tell him I'm going to sue. If you don't tell me what I want to know, then I'll get the police in here and tell them that you are with holding information that could be of great importance to our case."

Brenda couldn't speak. For the first time ever, Nancy had threatened her. Usually it was Frank or Joe, but this time it was Nancy. Something bad must be going on if she was willing to stoop to threatening.

"Oh, and Brenda?" Nancy smiled. "Turn off the tape recorder."

The reporter turned off her tape recorder and leaned back in her chair. She had to admit that she was baffled by all of this.

"I want to know what's happening." Brenda stated.

"Too bad." Joe said bluntly. "You're putting three lives into jeopardy by not telling us what we need to know right now!"

"You need to tell us who your contact is." Nancy stood up straight. "We don't have time for you to play reporter. Right now you have a contact and we need their name."

"I can't give it to you." Brenda said sighing.

"Why not?"

"I don't have it." She looked up at the two angry people and nearly flinched back by the look on their faces. "They don't give me their names, just a code name."

"Then give us that, plus anything else you know."

"All I know is that the person is female and the code name she uses is Twins." Brenda looked back and forth between the two people towering over her. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

"No." Joe said and looked at Nancy. "Any ideas?"

"None." She replied. "Let's get going."

"Hey wait!" Brenda cried out, but they ignored her. She looked at her door surprised. She had never seen Nancy so angry. Something big was going to happen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Frank gasped in pain. His shoulder was killing him and he had more wounds than he had counted on getting in one case. Plus, he was chained to a wall and for once, he couldn't get out of it, which irritated him to no end. With his arms hanging over his head, his shoulder had been bound by a bandage his captors tied around it. He was lucky they knew what they were doing and he was pretty sure that he had briefly heard someone say that their boss didn't want him dead.

There was a dim light in the room and made Frank feel like he was in a cellar of a castle. The door opened and someone walked in, staying out of the light just enough so he couldn't see the person.

"Who's there?" He demanded.

The person chuckled. "Frank Hardy. I never thought I would get to see you chained up and helpless like this."

Frank sucked in his breath. "Ned?"

He stepped into the light. He looked like the same old, good looking Ned, but Frank could see in his eyes that he had gone mad.

"Isn't this lovely? I've got Nancy's two best friends, and her man." Ned came up to him and gave him a right cross. Frank grunted in pain, but couldn't do anything to defend himself.

"I thought you were dead." He gasped as his eye and shoulder throbbed.

"Oh, that's no surprise." The mad man laughed and walked around. "For once, I have the man who had captured Nancy's attention for so long in my grasp. I can do with you whatever I see fit. I can have you killed, but that's too easy."

"I never took Nancy from you."

"Liar!" He shouted. "You took her from the moment you two met! I could see it every time she was thinking of you! She never looked at me the way she looked at you! All you two wanted was each other so all you did was string Callie and me along, pretending not to want each other!"

"Unlike you and Callie, Nancy and I never did anything to jeopardize our relationships with the two of you!" Frank shouted back, forgetting that he was the captive and the one who was likely to be more hurt.

Ned smiled evilly. "Well, you shouldn't have neglected us for so long then." He snapped and three big, muscled men walked into the room. "See these men? They can mess you up better than anyone you've ever known. And guess what? I'm going to let them so you can begin to feel the pain that you and Nancy caused me. By the time they're done with you, you'll wish I had killed you."

With that said, he left the room and the three men came towards Frank, each with a different weapon in hand. Frank looked at them and prayed, _Please, Nancy, come and find us... I know he has George and Bess too, but be prepared for this..._


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been having some problems with my internet, but here is the next chapter :) Enjoy!

Chapter 13

"Nancy, do you know anyone with a code name of Twins?" Joe asked as they walked through the police station.

"Not that I recall, but I might have something in my notes."

Joe shook his head. Twenty four hours ago Frank and Nancy were making head way. Nancy with coming back to herself again, and then both of them in the sense that they needed each other. Now Nancy was hard core, ready to kick any one's butt. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone's problems. He did have to admit that he loved what she did to Brenda. He had never seen Brenda more shocked and at an utter loss for words before Nancy had ripped into her.

"Frank and I went through things, but we didn't come up with anything named 'Twins' in there." He said out loud.

"Not if it's a code name. It's only going to be given to those people who would need to know it, but there has to be something that will give me a clue as to what is going on." She opened the door to her office and stopped cold.

"Nan, what's wrong?" Joe looked around her.

"You've made a mess of my office." She glared at him.

"Well, I figured I would have it cleaned up before you got back to work." He said sheepishly.

"You have made a mess of my office." She repeated.

"Now, Nancy, is that any way to think since we're trying to find Frank?"

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "You caused more problems by making a mess of my office. I had everything organized so I would know how to get through it, and now I'm not going to get through it at all. Clean it up."

He looked at her, astonished. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. I'll start looking through a small pile of things, and you will start cleaning up my office."

"Nancy, they've got my brother!"

"I know." She said quietly. "That's why I'm having you do this. Now, get busy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Frank sagged against the wall. He couldn't take anymore. He felt like he was on the verge of death. Every part of him was in pain. He was bruised and broken and felt like crawling into a little hole and dying. He hung on for one reason: Nancy.

"So, have you given up yet?" Ned asked leaning down to grin at him.

Looking at him through swollen eyes, Frank licked his cracked and puffy lips. "No." He refused to give Ned what he wanted. He wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of saying that he stole Nancy when he didn't.

"Pity." Ned motioned to his two goons and they came forward again. He watched with a satisfied grin as his men tortured Frank more than they had already.

When they were finished, he said, "Take him and dump him somewhere."

"But boss, he'll tell her!" One of the protested.

"I'm counting on it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

George looked around. Ever since Ned had revealed himself to her and Bess, she'd been trying to figure out how to get a message to Nancy. All she managed to come up with was nothing. Bess wasn't helping either. All she was able to do right now was demand to know how Ned was alive if Nancy had killed him.

"Hello, George." Ned walked through the door to the room. He grinned at the two cousins. Bess had started to breathe heavily.

"What do you want?" She demanded.

"Tsk tsk," He put a hand to her cheek. "Obviously I want Nancy to come and find you. Once she finds Frank, well, we all know what will happen then."

"You're sick!" She exclaimed. "It was Frank crying out wasn't it?"

"Of course. Don't you think I would want him in as much physical pain as he put me through on emotional?"

"It's not his fault he and Nancy belong together!" Bess shouted.

He turned and slapped her. "Fool. You've encouraged them most of all. You should be lucky I don't do anything to _you._"

She glared at him. "She'll find us you know."

He chuckled. "I'm counting on it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nancy and Joe were walking back to her apartment with food in their arms. They had been working until nine and both hadn't stopped to eat. Being unusual for Joe to go without food for so long, Nancy decided they needed to stop on the way home.

"When we get Frank back, we need to go on a cruise." Joe decided.

She gave him wry smile. "The last time we were on a cruise together, we had a dead body in the pool."

"That's my point." He smiled back. "We can't loose each other as easily on a ship. So if one of us gets kidnaped then we'll still be able to find us because we're on a ship."

She laughed. "Good point, but what happens if we're taken off the ship?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead." Joe said right before he stumbled. Luckily he regained his balance and turned to look at what he tripped on. He dropped his food. "Oh, God. Nancy, it's Frank!"

She hurried to where Joe was kneeling and saw that was indeed Frank. But he looked like he had been beaten up beyond repair and he was still bleeding.

"Joe, call an ambulance. We've got to get him into a hospital." She said. While Joe called, Nancy continued to look at Frank's injuries. He was unconscious but he was mumbling something. She knelt close to his mouth. "Nan...need you..."

She leaned back and frowned. What had happened to him?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Nancy and Joe sat in the waiting room trying not to harass the nurses any more than they already had. Nancy felt a little guilty for threatening one of the nurses with their phone, but the nurse had just smiled politely and said that when she knew something she would come and find them to tell them.

Joe drummed his fingers together. He was impatient and he had nothing to do. He had already called his parents to let them know what was going on, but they couldn't catch a flight until the next day.

"Nan, are you okay?" He asked. She had scared him when she threatened the nurse with the phone.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. Joe, I can't lose him."

He wrapped an arm around her in a brotherly way. "I know Nancy, but I'm sure he'll be fine."

She patted his hand in thanks. "I hope so, I truly hope so."

"Excuse me." They looked up and saw a doctor standing in front of them.

"Yes?"

"Frank is going to be just fine." He told them. "He did have to have some stitches, but mostly he had several broken ribs. He is unconscious right now."

Relief flooded through Nancy. She had never felt a stronger sense of relief than she did at that moment. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, but not for long. He is in ICU. I want to keep him under watch for the next couple of nights."

Nancy nodded her understanding. "Will one of us be able to stay with him?"

"I'll tell you what," He saw the pleading looks in their eyes and knew it would be difficult to keep them out of the hospital. "I'll arrange it so both of you can stay with him. Once he's moved into another room it will be easier for you two to stay there. Have either of you called his parents?"

"Yes, I did." Joe said. "Our parents are catching a flight tomorrow morning. There wasn't one available tonight."

The doctor nodded. "Good, good. Well, let me show you where he is and I'll leave you two alone with him."

"Thank you." Nancy whispered.

When they walked into the room Frank was in, Nancy resisted the urge to cry harder than she already was. He looked somewhat better than when they found him, but he still looked awful.

"Oh, Frank." She murmured.

Joe looked at his brother and then back at Nancy. "I'll go and get us some coffee." He turned and walked out quickly, knowing they should have a few moments alone. Even if Frank couldn't talk to Nancy, she could talk to him, and he most definitely didn't want to hear anything she said to him.

Nancy walked over next to Frank and gently kissed his forehead, taking in the swelling around his mouth and the black eyes he had. There was a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and a small bandage was on a part of his forehead.

"Frank, love, wake up." She whispered. "Please."

He heard her. He could hear her in his mind begging him to wake up and he fought to do so. He couldn't let her leave him, he had to keep her near him. He didn't want her to leave him. He loved her and needed to wake up so he could tell her that.

Struggling to open his eyes he saw her giving him a watery smile, with tears coming down her face and holding onto one of his hands.

"Nan..." He whispered and then coughed.

"Do you need some water?" She asked grabbing a glass that was sitting near her.

He nodded and she gently poured water into his mouth. When he felt his throat moisten back up he looked at her. "How long have you been here?"

"About five minutes." She answered.

"Joe?"

"Went to get some coffee."

"He hates coffee."

"Well, I think he wanted to leave us alone." She smiled at him.

"I'm glad he did." He gave a stiff smile, trying to ignore his pain. "Nancy, I need to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"When I was taken, I realized there was a high chance that I wouldn't come out of it alive. My captor," He avoided telling her who it was that had taken him, "seemed to have a very high want of making sure I didn't get out. While I was there, I felt guilty."

"For what?"

"For not telling you how much I love you and need you." He answered.

"Frank, I love you too." She bent down and kissed him as gently as possible on his lips. She sat back up with determination in her eyes. "Don't worry. We'll catch whoever it was who did this to you and–"

"No!" Frank cried out. "Nancy you can't!"

"What? Why?" She was surprised by his sudden outburst.

His hand clenched hers. "Please, don't try and find them! You won't be able to handle it!"

"What?"

AN: Sorry it took so long for me to update, but here is chapter 14 enjoy!


	15. Chapter 15

AN: My apologies for being a lot longer on updating than I had originally planned. Thanks for those who were patient with me and I hope you enjoy the latest installment!

Chapter 15

Joe walked back into Frank's room with Nancy staring at his brother and Frank clutching her arm as though his life depended on it.

"I got coffee." Joe said. Nancy looked at him and took a cup and walked out of the room feeling confused by what had just happened. She didn't understand what caused Frank to suddenly freak out. _What happened to him?_She wondered.

Joe looked at his brother. "What happened?"

"Joe, stop her from trying to solve this case. Please!" Frank begged.

"Why? What's going on?" Joe asked.

"Just please do it! I'll explain when I'm out of here!"

"I'll do my best." He promised his brother. "But I can't promise anything. We both know Nan will do her best to find out what happened."

"I know." Frank sighed.

Nancy sighed as she watched Frank sleep. Ever since his outburst she had been more and more worried. Who on earth was out there that would scare Frank? She could handle any criminal. Especially one who was going to torment her and try to kill her. After all this person had her best friends in with them and she wasn't about to let them get away with _that._

The doctor had gotten both Joe and Nancy a pair of chairs that they could sleep on, but even that didn't help being in there. She had been watching him sleep all night and she couldn't bring herself to go to sleep. She thought that if she did then she would wake up and he wouldn't be there and everything would be a dream.

"Nancy." Joe walked in with his parents right behind him.

She stood up. "Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, I'm so sorry this happened."

"Don't apologize, Nancy." Fenton said. "You did nothing wrong. Frank came here with every intention of helping you."

She looked down and tried not to cry at his kindness. When she didn't say anything, Mrs. Hardy came to her and put her hands on her arms. "Nancy, why don't you let us stay with Frank and let Joe walk you home so you can get some rest."

"If anything happens, we can call you." Fenton assured her before she could protest.

"Come on, Nan," Joe said softly. He picked up her purse. "You need to rest. You won't be any good to Frank if you aren't at your best."

"Alright." She sighed and let Joe lead her out of the room.

"Poor girl." Laura Hardy sighed. "They love each other so much and now someone took our baby to hurt her."

"It'll be alright." Fenton replied. "They're fighters. They'll make it through this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ned sat at his desk reviewing papers that had been left behind. Luckily his papers had been hidden so thoroughly that the police had never managed to find them. It insured him that his operations could continue underway. He had more tricks up his sleeve than anyone would realize.

He smiled to himself. He was more than enjoying playing games with Nancy. She would crack. And when she did he would be there to end the torment.

"So, you're here." Ned looked up at the sound of a females voice.

He grinned. "Hello, Callie." Then he frowned. "You're pregnant."

She raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry, they're yours."

He felt a burst of pride in his chest. "They?"

She chuckled. "I'm having twins. Didn't you tell me in New York that twins run in your family?"

"True." He grinned again. "Come here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nancy sat beside her fireplace. She shivered, but she wasn't cold. She was terrified of what was happening. Joe had had to run to the grocery store because she was low on food, thanks to him. She had promised not to leave the house and it helped that there was a guard who stayed near her door just in case something happened.

Her phone rang and she jumped. She couldn't believe how jittery she was becoming over all of this. Sighing, she picked it up. "Hello."

"Hey beautiful"

She smiled. "Hi, Frank. How do you feel?"

"I'm great as long as the doctors keep me on the aspirin they have for me." He chuckled, trying not to wince. He wanted to keep himself upbeat for Nancy's sake.

"Frank...who did this to you?" She asked.

"Two enormous heavy weights." He replied.

"Can you tell me anything else?"

"No, I can't." He sighed. "Just talk to me, Nan, let me forget about it for a few minutes."

"Okay, I can do that." She smiled into the phone. "Your brother is at the grocery store, he's eaten me out of more food again. I'm thinking of giving him a daily allowance of how much food he can have."

"My parents tried that. He just started eating the neighbors out of food."

She laughed. "In that case, I had better save my neighbors just for their sakes."

There was a thud against her door making her jump. Then the officer who stayed in her hall opened the door and in walked Joe saying, "Sorry, Nan, but when I got here, I couldn't balance all four bags and get the door opened.

"Joe is back, with a lot more groceries than I ever buy." Nancy marveled at all the things Joe was pulling out of the bag.

"Make sure he actually bought something healthy." Frank said. "I need it when I get out of here."

"I'll make sure."

"Nan, I have to go. The doctor is here to make sure I'm still functioning in all the right places."

"Call me later?" She asked.

"Promise."

When they hung up, Nancy walked into the kitchen to help Joe put away the food. "Frank said you better have bought him some health food."

"Hope he likes yogurt then."He answered stuffing twinkies into the pantry. He turned and grinned at her. "He only wants healthy stuff to drive me nuts."

"Healthy is good."

"Yeah, so is a good cheese burger. You want one? Even Frank says I make great burgers."

Nancy laughed. "Well, it seems only fair since you are eating me out of food."

He chuckled, "Oh, I picked up your mail for you. Didn't want you to get caught by those people who took Frank and then have to deal with Frank once he found out."

"Thanks."

She sat at the table while Joe began cooking. Going through the mail she set aside her bills and came across an envelope labeled with just her name. Curious, she opened it up. Unfolding the letter inside she read:

Drew,

We want you to know that your friends are alive. However how much longer we keep them alive is up to you. We have plans for you, Ms. Drew, and you will follow through with them or they die.

"Joe!"


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I apologize for my lateness in updating. I hope y'all enjoy the chapter. I'll do my best to update faster.

Chapter 16

"I don't think you should go through with whatever they want, Nan." Joe said looking at the note. "How do we know they won't kill Bess and George even after you've done what they want?"

"But if they haven't kill them and I don't do it, then they will die." Nancy said feeling dejected. "I'm trapped no matter what I do."

Joe went back to the stove and continued to cook. He need to do something with his hands. "They'll have to contact you somehow, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see until it happens."

Ned walked into the room where George and Bess were sitting. "It seems that you two aren't fond of eating the food my men have prepared for you."

"Sorry, neither of us are particularly fond of being poisoned." George snapped at him.

He chuckled. "Oh, George, you're so ignorant. Do you really believe I would want to kill you to get to Nancy?"

"Yes."

"In that case, you're very wrong." He leaned against the wall and looked at the cousins. "You see, if you were found dead, then it would ruin my plans completely. I can't have that at all."

Bess shook her head. "What made you like this?"

He cocked his head towards her, willing to amuse her. "First there was the neglect that Nancy kept showing me. Then it was when I found out how much she loves Frank and after that it was when I heard she'd murdered my twin."

Nancy and Joe walked into the Frank's hospital room the next morning. Laura and Fenton stood up.

"Come on, Joe, your father and I would like some breakfast and we'd like to talk to you." Laura said and they led their son out of the room.

Nancy went and sat down next to Frank. "You look better."

He chuckled and winced as pain shot through his ribs. Most of the swelling in his face had gone down and he was beginning to look like the Frank Hardy they both knew.

"I wish I felt better." He replied.

She smiled at him. "You will, and when you do you can help me and Joe figure out what to do next."

"What do you mean?" He stared at her. He had asked Joe to stop her from working on the case, but something must have happened if his brother wasn't able to do something yet.

"I got this in the mail," She showed him the letter. "We've tried to figure out a way to avoid me doing anything, but the only thing we can figure is that if they haven't killed Bess and George by now, then they will if I don't do something."

He nodded as he looked at it. "So, you'll have to wait until they give you orders."

"Exactly." She replied.

Frank looked up at her and saw the pain in her eyes. "Nan, I know it's killing you to sit idle like this, but we'll find them. It's what we do."

She nodded as tears came unwelcome in her eyes. "I feel frustrated that I don't have much in the way of clues."

Taking her hand he pulled her to him and kissed her. "Everything is going to work out. I promise you that."

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just being you."

"I try." Frank replied with a grin.

When Nancy and Joe returned to her penthouse they were both silently thinking. Joe was worried about how he was going to abide his brother's wishes to keep Nancy off this case, without knowing why and Nancy was worried about not finding her friends.

"Nan, I think maybe I should work on this case and–"

"And what? I sit by and wait until you solve it? No thanks." She glared at him. "Has Frank talked to you about keeping me from working?"

Joe looked so sheepish that Nancy nearly laughed. "Well, he's scared about what you'll find on this case. If it's linked with Ned, then maybe it's not a good idea."

"Whoever it is, they have my best friends. I can't sit here and do nothing. I have to work."

He sighed. "At least tell Frank I tried to get you to stop."

She grinned. "I'll tell him." She walked towards the kitchen when the phone rang. She sighed and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Drew."


	17. Chapter 17

AN: So, in my attempt to update more often, I have indeed neglected that. I've had a bit of writer's block regarding this story, but I'm hoping that will be over and done with here. Does anyone know how Beta's work? I don't and I'd like to know... Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 17

George looked around her prison. She was amazed at how much hospitality Ned was showing them. He was insane, she figured that much, but he was acting as though nothing was amiss. Like he hadn't slapped Bess and as if they hadn't been friends with each other most of their lives and that he had not only dated her best friend, but he had betrayed her and they had all been sure Nancy had killed him.

Since the last time they had seen him, Ned had been friendly, even respectable towards her and Bess. The two cousins kept their eyes on him, desperate to find a way to get through to him. Maybe if they got him to talk about his brother he would let his guard down enough for them to get away. Shaking her head, she continued to focus on a different way out. They wouldn't be able to untie themselves from chairs; Ned had been smart enough to handcuff them. It almost made her wish he had been less observant when he had helped Nancy on cases.

"George?" Bess looked at her cousin.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we're going to come out of this alive." She whispered.

George sighed, trying not to give into her own fears. "Nan will find a way, she always does."

"I don't think this will be one of those times." Bess shook her head. "Ned has gone completely insane. He _knows _Nancy and how she works. He'll be able to win against her. If his...twin...wasn't able to it was because he didn't have a strong enough knowledge of Nancy. Ned does and I think he'll really win." She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. "I'd really hate it to end like this. I mean...I didn't even get a good chance to flirt with Joe!"

George burst out laughing. "Trust you to think of men at a time like this!"

Bess tried to glare at her cousin, but a smile tugged at her lips. "I suppose I should go to addictive meeting for men when we get out of this."

Nodding, the brunette tried to keep the conversation light, to make sure Bess didn't lapse back into the fear that they were going to die.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Frank stared at the ceiling, completely obsessed with counting the holes in the tiles. It was keeping his mind occupied and if he didn't find a way to keep it that way, then he was going to work on a way to get himself out of the bed he was in and get to Nancy. When he had spoken to Joe on the phone earlier, his brother had told him that Nancy had gotten a phone call from someone. She didn't have her assignment yet, but she had confirmed that she would do what they asked. Frank had resisted the urge to reach through the phone and strangle his brother for not keeping Nancy from working on the case.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew better than to think he'd be able to keep Nancy off the case. Short of him hurting himself to keep her in the hospital with him, he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to stop her.

Shouts brought him out of his reverie and made him look out the door as nurses rushed by with a patient on a cart. He caught a glimpse of reddish blonde hair and he could feel panic start to rise in his stomach. He struggled to sit up and hit the button on the remote that alerted the nurses. He had to know what was going on.

Joe walked into the room and gave him a bleak look. He was covered in dirt and had a scrape running down across his forehead. His clothes were torn where they had gotten snagged.

"What the hell happened?" Frank demanded. "Where is Nancy?"

"The car blew up." Joe whispered looking at his brother helplessly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ned pulled away from Callie in bed and sat up rubbing his eyes. "Who gave that order?" He demanded swinging his feet off the edge. He stood and glared at the messenger. "Don't make me ask more than once."

"We don't know, sir." the man whispered, cowering from him. "We're tracking them down as fast as possible, but so far nothing."

"Find out now." Ned snarled and waited for the man to walk out of the room and sat down, putting his head in his hands. "This is not good."

"What is it?" Callie asked turning over.

Laying down, he wrapped an arm around her. "Someone gave an order to blow Nancy's car up."

"Isn't that good, as long as it kills her?"

"No." A glint came into his eyes, one Callie had come to recognize as vengeance. "I want to kill her with my bare hands. I can't do that with someone else in the game. I need to find out who else is trying to kill her and eliminate them."


	18. Chapter 18

AN: So, here it is...after a little over 2 years, ch. 18. It's been a rough couple years and I have definitely progressed as a writer. I _do _want to continue this story, and hopefully you'll see some changes in my style since I started it. Anyway, I apologize for taking so long on it. Enjoy.

Ch. 18

Frank sat helplessly in the bed. Joe had been taken away to be seen and to give a statement to the police. All either man could think of was Nancy. Joe kept replaying the scene over and over in his head…

_"Nancy, we should really think logically." Joe tried to reason._

_Nancy sighed as she pulled up to a red light. "Alright, Joe. What do you suggest? What should I do while these men have my best friends locked up?"_

_He winced. "When you put it like that I sound like a jerk."_

_"No." Nancy rested her head against the steering wheel. "No, Joe. You're right. I'm not thinking as clearly as I should be. With everything that's happened, first Bess and George, then Frank…"_

_"Hey," Joe put a hand on her back, "it isn't your fault they were taken. But we'll find them. We're the best. It's what we do."_

_Nancy let out a dry laugh as she sat back up and waited for the light to turn. "I know. It's been hard to put myself back in the game since the case with Ned, but…it seems that George and Bess are right. I can never seem to avoid a case."_

_"Nan, these bastards are going to pay. For what they did to you, for what they're doing to them, and for what they put Frank through"_

_"You're right." Nancy nodded as she began driving again. "We just have to see what they give me now that I've agreed to do what they've asked."_

_"We can get Chief McGinnis to help." Joe mused. "Get you wired, undercover cops—"_

_"It may not help to have it go like that." Nancy interrupted. "So far the Chief knows I've received the notes and the phone calls, but if they're coming out anonymously, it could easily be that they want to depict me as a twisted cop."_

_"Would it work? Most of the people here know you. They know it's not possible." Joe answered._

_"Nor was it possible that Ned could be the criminal mastermind, but he was." Nancy replied._

_Joe nodded in agreement. They drove in an amiably silence for several minutes before slow ticking caught their attention._

_"Nancy, when was the last time you had your car checked?" Joe asked shifting nervously._

_"A couple weeks ago." She whispered._

_"We have to get out of the car. Now!"…_

Joe sat in front of Chief McGinnis giving his statement. They had barely gotten out of the car, both had been thrown as far as the blast could send them. He had had the better end because he had landed in the street. Nancy, on the other hand, had had the misfortune to fly through a window. From what he had seen, and what the paramedics had determined, was that she hadn't gotten far enough before the car exploded.

Right now, she was in surgery while one man sat in a hospital bed waiting to hear what had happened to her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ned stalked his office like a predator looking for his prey. He was unsatisfied with the lack of results his men had given him in regards to who had tried to kill Nancy. It just would not do for anyone to hurt her, he decided. The only person who had that right was him. Anyone else was unacceptable.

"It's on the news." Callie walked in, holding a hand to her stomach. She rubbed the large belly absently. "They say she's been in surgery for two hours. Apparently she was impaled by some glass or objects. They've been having a difficult time removing them."

"They had better." He snarled. "I want to break her myself."

Callie smiled as she walked over to him, holding his face in her hands. "Don't worry. Reports say she'll make a full recovery. Although you must admit: the fact that someone is slowly destroying the abilities of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys is quite intriguing."

"Perhaps, but not when it's interfering with my plans."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Chief McGinnis," Joe looked up. "I want a report on where Callie Anderson was during the time that Ned Nickerson was robbing museums."

"Friend of yours?"

"Something like that." He replied standing and walking out of the room. Going to his brother's room he found his parents and Carson Drew sitting together.

"Any news?" He asked.

Carson shook his head. "A nurse came out and said she should be out soon, but the impact…"

Frank was staring out the window. Ned was responsible, his mind said. Ned and Callie. Somehow. Someway. They were responsible for everything going on. Bess and George were alive. Ned was going to use Nancy to do his dirty work. Then he was going to do everything in his power to destroy the detective.

"I'll kill that bastard." Frank growled lowly.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When Nancy was finally released from surgery the only person allowed to see her was Carson. He sat with her for the next day and a half, silently praying. He knew to ask her to give up her lifestyle was like asking a poisonous snake not to bite its prey. Having never felt like his age, it crept up on him now. He felt exhausted. If he had his way his daughter would be locked away where no one could hurt him.

Fenton and Laura had helped him in every way they could. Like their friend they both knew that trying to deter Nancy, or the boys, from what they were good at would be futile. They had taken on the concerned observer role years ago. Now, they did everything they could to help when they were needed.

Joe had taken Frank to Nancy's apartment with orders from the doctor to keep him on strict bed rest. Frank had resisted, wanting to be there when they were allowed to see Nancy, but the doctors had promised the only one who would be allowed in the room was her father. So Frank reluctantly lay in bed while an officer was stationed outside the penthouse door and on the fire escape. Chief McGinnis refused to leave him unattended. Joe sat in the living room going over the notes Nancy had taken during her case.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nancy opened her eyes, groaning softly at the blurriness that flooded her vision. Blinking against the bright lights, the tears that came helped her eyes clear. Shifting uncomfortably she looked around. The last thing she could remember was hitting glass. A dull throb slowly pushed its way to her attention.

Gripping the bed, she forced herself to sit upright, wincing against the pain that shot through her. Her father was asleep in the chair beside her bed. Her heart tugged guiltily as she thought of all the pain she had put him through over the years. How many times had he been worried about her safety? She wondered.

"Dad." She said hoarsely.

Carson opened his eyes. Going straight to her, he sat up quickly. "Nancy, how do you feel?"

"Sore." Nancy admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Nan, you've done nothing wrong. Don't apologize." Carson shook his head. "If I could, I would take your place."

"Don't say that." She pleaded with him."Your job is scary enough."

Carson chuckled dryly and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "There's my girl."

"Aren't you supposed to be in Los Angeles for a case?" She asked.

"They granted an extension so I could make sure you would be alright." Carson answered.

Nancy sighed. "I'm fine. Or will be. I don't want to keep you from your case. You've been talking about it for months. Please go, I promise I won't let my car get blown up again."

"You need another car." Carson told her. "I want to make sure you have suitable transportation before I leave."

"Yes dad." Nancy smiled agreeably.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Joe dropped the paper helplessly. He had found little or nothing to help him. Everything in the files had been gone through repeatedly, but he _knew _he was missing something. If he could figure out what he was missing then he would make some headway.

Looking up toward the bedroom he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. Carson had brought Nancy home two days ago. Initially, Frank had been in another room, but when Joe had gone to check on him he had found him missing. Resisting the urge to panic, Joe searched until he found Frank in Nancy's room, both asleep, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. He had left them there, knowing it would be easier to not fight them.

A determined knock caught his attention. Rising he walked quickly to the door, afraid that Chief McGinnis would have worse news for him. But when he saw Callie Shaw standing on the other side, he scowled.

"What?" He demanded.

"I wanted to see how Nancy is. I heard about the awful accident." She replied sweetly.

"You've never cared about Nancy before." Joe retorted. "In fact I seem to recall some pretty heated fights between you and Frank about her."

"That doesn't mean I want to see her dead." Callie answered, peering around him to see an empty living room. "Where's Frank?"

"With Nancy." Joe replied, feeling slightly smug at the brief glimpse of shock that came to her face.

"Well, of course." She recovered quickly. It surprised her that she would hurt, even the tiniest bit, about the idea of Frank being with Nancy. She knew well enough that he would be with her. It irked her that he had wasted no time in moving on. Perhaps Ned was right, she thought idly, it was best to hit them where it hurt, rather than make themselves suffer. Besides, she was pregnant with _Ned's _children, not Frank's. The affect that had on him when she told him was a great level of satisfaction.

"It's only natural that they be together."

"Knock it off, Callie." Joe snapped. "We both know you came here to find a way to hurt them. You've caused enough damage."

"I'm not finished here." Callie narrowed her eyes. "I want to talk to Frank."

"He's indisposed." Joe said tightly.

"It's okay, Joe. I'll talk to her." He turned to see his brother slowly coming down the stairs using the crutch the doctor had given him.

Frank ignored Callie as he worked his way down the stairs. When he got to the bottom he walked to the couch and sat. "Let her in." Frank said, reaching over to close the folder that Nancy's case notes were in.

Callie came in and sat down on the couch near him. "Frank, I know things ended rather badly between us—"

"You broke it off because you swore up and down that Nancy and I were together. Then you come here, after having been missing for the last three and a half months, being pregnant, then announce the baby is Ned Nickerson's." Frank said. "And you call that bad?"

"Alright, so I have handled things unpleasantly." She replied. "But, can you forgive me, even the tiniest bit? After all the times I forgave the fact that I knew you were in love with Nancy?"

"You have no right to use that as a means of begging for forgiveness!" Frank snapped. "If you want forgiveness you'll need to go to a church."

"I'm going to go check on Nancy." Joe muttered and rushed up the stairs. He wanted nothing to do with Frank's rising temper.

Callie stood. "I realize now it was not in my best interest to have come. I'll leave."

Frank followed her to the door. Opening it, he gripped it tightly. "I know you're with him. You can tell him it's not over. I'll bury him before he touches her."

"You really think you can take him? Hmm, Hardy?" Callie cocked her head challengingly.

"Don't test me, Callie." Frank growled. "You won't win either."


	20. Chapter 20

AN: This chapter is a little short. Sorry about that, but there is something I'm trying to work out in my head before I write it down. Also, my bad on Callie's last name. The chapter I had been working on when I wrote it, I had a major brainfart on it and later remembered it's Shaw. So, I hope you enjoy what I was able to get out for you :)

Chapter 20

The weeks passed uneventfully. While Nancy and Frank recuperated, Joe was grateful for the uninterrupted peace. It gave him the chance to focus on finding George and Bess. In his gut he knew they were still alive. For whatever reason, he knew. It was a reassurance. Nancy had been worried, but between Frank and himself they had managed to calm the bedridden detective.

When he wasn't waiting on them hand and foot, he was going through the paperwork from Nancy's case hoping for any clue. So far he had been graced with nothing. Chief McGinnis had finally forced Joe to give the files back to him. Having made his own notes, Joe had handed them over. It was a good thing, he decided, looking at the spotless flat. Nancy would not be able to kill him for the lack of cleanliness.

He currently stood at the stove cooking steaks, with plans to throw them into the fried rice later. Whether they liked it or not, they would come out of the bedroom and eat. He knew they both had to get up during the day for a little bit.

His phone rang, bringing him out of this thoughts. "Hello?"

"Joe. How long do you plan to leave me here all alone?" His girlfriend's voice teased.

Joe smiled. "Hi, Vanessa."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ned stalked his office. He was furious. He couldn't make a move against Nancy or the Hardys' until he found out who had attacked Nancy. He hated to admit it, but he had to help them in order to serve his own purposes. Nancy was not doing anything productive until she was able to move again. Frank he could care less about for the moment. He had fueled Nancy's anger by attacking him. He knew that, and so did Frank. Ned also knew Frank would never tell Nancy who it was that attacked him. Emotional trauma had it perks, the criminal thought pleasantly before his anger returned.

"Sir." Turning he found one of his men waiting nervously at the door. "The captives aren't eating."

"Force it down their throats!" He snapped, unwilling to deal with his mens' incompetence.

"We've done that. They spit it back in our faces."

"I'll deal with them myself." Ned marched out of the room and down the corridors until he came to the room where Bess and George were being held. When he walked in, they looked up. George looked almost smug. Bess looked sick.

"Bess, you know sick you get when you don't eat." Ned said smiling almost pleasantly toward her. "It would be bad for your ever present diet if you stopped eating."

"You've poisoned it." She rasped. "That's the only reason you would keep feeding us."

"Now, now." Ned picked up a plate and held it in front of her. "I wouldn't poison my captives. I have to make sure my bait is live when I want to reel my fish in."

George shook her head. "You're sick."

"Yes, yes I am." Ned continued to hold the plate in front of Bess. "But let's be realistic, shall we? Neither of you can afford not to eat, especially if you're planning on making some grandiose escape out of here to warn Nancy. Since you're unlikely to succeed, at least try to have _some _energy so when she does find you, you'll be able to tell her who she's up against."

"We won't do that." Bess said. "It would kill her, especially after what you did."

"What I did wasn't nearly as bad as her killing my brother." Ned knelt in front of her. "Bess, let me put it to you this way. Eat this yourself, and save yourself from dying of starvation, or my men will be more than happy to help you."

Tears filled her eyes. Silently she took the plate. With an imploring glance at George, her cousin picked up her own plate and glared at Ned.

"Good girls." Ned turned and left the room, locking them in. Facing his men again, he smiled. "All it takes is a little convincing."

Callie was waiting for him in their room when he walked in. She turned and smiled indulgently. "They haven't found anything yet."

"They had better. I want the bastard who tried to kill her!" Ned growled as he sank into a chair.

Joining him, she sat on the arm and rubbed his shoulders as best as she could. "Deep breath, Ned, darling. If nothing else this will help you plan something stronger against her. You can make it so she never recovers from this."

Taking her wrist, he kissed it gently. "What do you have in mind?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Joe was still smiling when Nancy and Frank managed to come down for supper. Leaning close, Frank whispered, "He must have just talked to Vanessa."

"Oh, how is she?" Nancy asked with a smile.

"Good." Joe said putting a salad on the table. "Now sit and eat. We have a lot to go over.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Yay for me! I've updated. For all who have been following the story, thank you and I love ALL the reviews I'm getting! A fresh bit of news is that I have graduated college and now have much more free time, yay for me! And for this story! I am upgrading the rating because this chapter took a different turn than I expected. So stay tuned, I will definitely be updating much more!**

Chapter 21

Joe stared at Chief McGinnis. For whatever reason, his brain refused to wrap around what he had just been told. He tried several times to open his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Chief McGinnis sighed. "Joe, I'm sorry, but Callie Shaw was in New York going to school during the time that Ned Nickerson was active."

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but no. There has to be something, _something_, that isn't adding up."

"Why are you so interested in your brother's ex?" McGinnis asked. "I understand that she's recently come to River Heights, but none of you have given any indication that she's a threat."

"She's pregnant." Joe said bluntly. He wiped a hand over his eyes, unwilling to hide the exhaustion he felt. He continued, "The baby is Ned Nickerson's."

"I…see." Was all the chief could manage. He leaned back in his seat and watched the young man. Knowing that Nancy and Frank were finally getting back on their feet was a small relief, but seeing how tired Joe was concerned him. He would have liked nothing more than to tell all three of them to get off the case, but he knew them. He knew Nancy the best.

He could only hope that they would be careful and come back alive in the end.

"I'll tell you what, Joe." McGinnis leaned forward. "I'll keep looking into it. Perhaps I missed something. I have some other contacts outside the NYPD that I can talk to."

"You—"

McGinnis winked as he stood. "You're not the only one who does things their way."

Joe let out a chuckle as he followed the police chief out of the office. He had never considered that McGinnis would do anything the way they did things.

"Oh, Joe? Before you leave, you may want to see this." He handed the young man the current issue of the paper. He watched as Joe's gaze darkened as he read it.

Joe felt his blood boil. He wanted to rip Brenda to pieces for the insult she had just delivered to his brother and Nancy.

_**Detectives Not So Innocent**_

_Our very own Nancy Drew has been seen in the hospital, after the dreadful incident regarding her car. But the question is not necessarily who has it in for Detective Drew, but rather who did she manage to anger? My sources informed me that our illustrious girl wonder has been secretly seeing Bayport's own Frank Hardy. It comes to a surprise to many people as it was widely known that Nancy had been dating the deceased Ned Nickerson. _

_It comes to mind, was Nancy seeing Frank while she was still dating Nickerson? A recent interview with Frank Hardy's ex, Callie Shaw, has given a new light to a mysterious relationship._

_"I love him so much," Callie stated, with tears in her eyes, "It just hurts to know that he will never be here for his babies." She is currently six months pregnant with twins. Earlier in the interview, Callie admitted that she had always known something was happening between Nancy and Frank but turned a blind eye to it for fear of losing him. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened._

_It is shocking to see something so tragic occurring right under our very noses…_

Joe threw the paper in a nearby trash can as he stormed out of the police station. Getting to Nancy's new car, he pulled out and forced himself to drive calmly, though every instinct he has said to speed as fast as he could to the newspaper.

Reaching the paper quickly, he stormed through the halls and staircases in search of Brenda and found her sitting in her office on the phone. Before she saw him, he could hear part of the conversation.

"…of course you don't have to worry. I always keep my contacts quiet." Brenda was assuring the person on the phone. A delighted laugh came from her throat. "Are you sure? Well, if what you say is true, then I'll have to make sure that she realizes what a threat Hardy is to her….yes, well, it is my duty as a reporter to give the truth after all."

The sound of the receiver being put into the jack indicated to Joe that she was finished. Marching into her office, he stood before her, anger evident in his face.

Brenda, refusing to rise to any bait Joe might have, smiled politely. "Joe Hardy. What can I do for you?"

"You can print a retraction." He said through his teeth.

"Why would I do that?" Brenda turned to her computer.

"Because you know it's not true." Joe said tightly. "It's a defamation of character to both of them!"

"Oh please," She waved a hand dismissively. "You're just angry that your brother was just called out on the fact that he left his pregnant girlfriend because he was cheating on her with Nancy."

"Those babies aren't his!" Joe yelled before he could stop himself.

Brenda gave him her full attention. "Really? Would you like that on the record? Can you tell me who the babies' father really is?"

Joe shook his head. "Print a retraction, Brenda."

"Only if you give me an interview."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Frank stared out the window at the storm that took its vengeance out on the town. He had seen the paper earlier. Brenda was doing her damndest to destroy both of their reputations. He could only hope that the people in River Heights knew Nancy well enough to know she would never do anything like that. Unfortunately, they did not know him.

"Frank?" Nancy came downstairs bundled up in one of her blankets. Despite the heat being on, she was still cold.

Turning he smiled when he saw her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She admitted. "Are you alright?"

"I'd like to kill Brenda, but then…when is that new after she's printed something about us?" Frank shrugged indifferently.

Coming up to him, Nancy opened the blanket and wrapped him up in it with her. "Brenda is Brenda. When the case is solved then we can deal with her."

"You're very calm about her story." He said putting a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I've had years of practice. An initial reaction is just going to make her believe there is something more and want the scoop."

For several moments they stayed beside the window, wrapped in each others arms and the blanket, staring out at the storm.

Lightning shot across the sky, hitting a power line. The lights in Nancy's penthouse went out.

"Well," Nancy smiled up at him. "This will make things a bit entertaining for the night."

Frank kissed her. He deepened the kiss, needing to lose himself in her. He wanted nothing more than to feel her and love her.

"Nan…" he pulled back to look at her.

She simply nodded and brought him to her. The blanket fell off them as they clung to one another, hands beginning to roam, to learn the other. Slowly, Frank backed her toward the stairs. Breaking the kiss, he picked her up. Nancy's legs wrapped around his waist as he carried them carefully upstairs.

Reaching her room, he set her down carefully, and cupped her face in his hands, thumbs running over her cheeks softly. "You are my light, Nancy."

Tears filled her eyes as she kissed him, her hands found the hem of his shirt and she slowly lifted it over his head. Gazing at his muscular chest, she touched the fresh scars that adorned him. "These are all my fault."

"Not all of them." He teased. Pointing to one on his lower abdomen, he said, "This is Joe's fault."

"Frank," She whispered softly.

"No, Nancy." Frank brought her close to him. "No. I would take thousands of scars for you."

Kissing her as deeply as he could, he shut the door and took her to the bed.

As the storm continued outside, inside they lost themselves in each other.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: The ususal disclaimer applies, I don't own Nancy or the Hardy's. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I will hopefully be posting again soon!**

Ch. 22

Nancy felt the warm glow of the morning sun caress her face gently. With a small yawn she stretched and turned to the hard body next to her. Propping herself on her arms she smiled at the peaceful look on his face. Through all the fading wounds on his body and face, he looked rested. She could not remember the last time Frank had looked so relaxed.

She could not remember the last time she had been this relaxed.

Resting her chin on her hands she thought back to the argument she and Ned had had. Perhaps on some level he had been right in his statement that she would do more for Frank than him. When the accusation was made she had denied it, certain that he was wrong, but now…now she knew Ned had been right. The girl who had loved Ned Nickerson had fallen away into a woman who loved and craved Frank Hardy.

"What are you thinking?"

Startled she looked up and found him watching her through squinted eyes. With a smile she leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. "I'm thinking that I wouldn't mind waking up this way every morning."

"Mmm, tempted as I am to believe that," Frank slid an arm under and drew her closer, "I know you."

Nancy laughed. "If you know me so well, Hardy, what am I planning for the day?"

"Well." Frank took the time to pretend a thoughtful look. "I suppose a trip to Paris to stop a masquerading jewel thief is in order. We're due for a vacation."

Rolling her eyes she leaned back onto her side with an affectionate laugh. "It sounds like a wonderful vacation. Will there be art smugglers as well?"

"Absolutely." Frank nodded seriously. "You can't have a good vacation abroad without art smugglers."

"That definitely sounds like a vacation we need."

Turning on his side he ran a hand through her hair. When his hand stopped at her cheek he looked at her intensely. "What were you really thinking, Nan?"

"I was thinking that Ned was right." When his eyebrows rose she continued, "I would do more for you than I ever would him."

"Nancy." He murmured then gave her soft kiss. She gasped when he moved so he hovered above her. "We were different people when we were with Ned and Callie. When Ned said that to you it wasn't right then, but now it is."

"Frank…" She whispered pulling him down to her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Joe looked up as Frank made his way down the stairs. "It's about time you two emerged. We still have a case to solve."

"I know." Frank went to the kitchen to make something for him and Nancy to eat. "Both of us want to go to the station today and look through Nancy's notes again." _And I need to talk to Chief McGinnis_, he added silently. There was no way he was going to sit idly by while Nancy hunted for a supposed dead man.

"Sounds good. Oh and Frank?" He waited until his brother turned to face him. "It's about time."

"About time for what?" Nancy asked as she walked into the living room.

"For you two to finally get your act together." Joe teased. "Here I am doing all the work while you two laze about. And I've barely eaten anything for the last few weeks. I'm a growing boy! Do you know how vital it is for me to eat?"

Nancy laughed as she passed Joe. "If you're not careful you'll be growing around the waist."

"That hurts Nancy." Joe pouted.

"Don't worry," She reassured. "Once we get George and Bess back I'm sure Bess will be more than happy to show you some fantastic dieting tips." As Joe sighed dramatically Nancy chuckled. "I'm going to the gym downstairs for a small workout."

Once she left Joe turned to his brother. "Good job Frank."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Chief McGinnis here." McGinnis sat and listened to the phone call, his eyebrows rising. "Bob, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Bob replied. He had known McGinnis for more than two decades. While his friend had risen through the ranks of the police with an admiral record, he himself had chosen to take a private route. Having heard of both the Hardys' and Nancy Drew from the news and from McGinnis he knew they had a tough case on their hands.

And with the information he had just given to his friend he knew it would be even tougher for the Drew girl.

"Alright, thanks Bob." McGinnis hung up and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Rubbing his hands over face he contemplated how he was going to deal with the situation.

Reaching a decision, he picked up the phone again. Before he could dial, a knock on the door interrupted him. "Come in."

Frank walked into the office, closing the door and locking it behind him. He paused for a moment, then turned to McGinnis. "Chief, we need to talk."

"You're right, we do. Have a seat." As Frank sat he eyed the young man warily. "Frank, I've received some very interesting news just before you arrived."

"You know Ned Nickerson is alive." He said bluntly.

"How did you—" McGinnis motioned to the fading wounds. "He did this to you?" When Frank nodded, he continued, "I assume that means he has George and Bess."

"They're alive." Frank confirmed before the police chief could ask. "He'll keep them that way. From what I can tell he won't kill them."

"What makes you so certain?"

"He's torturing Nancy. He knows having them, and making sure they're not found, but they're alive, is going to keep her running." Sighing, he winced against a few of the pains in his sides. His ribs were taking longer to heal than he'd like. "He's playing a game with her. Ned is counting on me telling her Ned is alive."

"And you haven't."

"No. But now I'm going to have to." Frank's face was grim. "It may help her find them quicker if she knows it's him."

"Or it may distract her enough to keep her from finding him. Frank, you weren't here when she supposedly "killed" Ned. It looks bad, from a bystander. There was no one around during that final shooting. Some might speculate that she let him walk and he's repaying her kindness by kidnapping two innocent girls." McGinnis stood and paced the room. "Once the press finds out, there will be hell to pay on Nancy's end. A lot of people thought of Nickerson as an upstanding citizen, a loyal boyfriend, a good son.

"Now I find out that he is not only alive, but that he had a twin out there and that is who Nancy killed. It's far fetched and the press will rip her to shreds. The only way to keep them from finding out ahead of time is to keep it between us and Nancy and your brother."

"Agreed." Frank rose. "I'll speak to both of them as soon as possible."

Leaving the office he found Joe waiting for him. "I need to talk to you, Frank."

"What is it?" He asked as they walked down the hall.

"I saw the article yesterday about you and Nancy. I kind of flipped and acted first." Joe admitted.

Frank groaned. "What did you do?"

"I went down to the paper and confronted Brenda." Joe took a deep breath, knowing he was likely to get into a lot of trouble. "She agreed to a retraction, but demanded something in return."

"And that was?"

"A story."

They stopped outside Nancy's office. Frank gave his brother a hard look. "You didn't."

Joe nodded meekly. "I did."

"Damn it, Joe!" Frank growled lowly. "This is the last thing we need! What did it say?"

Wordlessly he handed Frank the paper.

_Well, citizens of River Heights, your reliable reporter has some news for you. It turns out that the anonymous source has mixed things up a little bit. Frank Hardy has always had a good reputation and far be it for me to denounce him. For this I issue an apology to Frank Hardy._

Frank looked at Joe. "This is it?"

"Keep reading." Joe muttered.

_His brother, Joe Hardy, has stated that Callie Shaw's twins belong to none other than Ned Nickerson. Shaw reportedly showed up at Nancy Drew's doorstep in an attempt to find her dead boyfriend, unaware that our girl detective had uncovered him as the mastermind behind large jewel embezzlements from our museums. _

_As we all know, Ned was killed trying to escape from Drew, who was about to arrest him. We have been lead to believe that she killed him out of self defense, but was it really anger of finding out her boyfriend had been cheating on her? Nancy Drew is hardly above human emotion. Even our wonderful girl detective is capable of falling from grace. Can it be that this is what happened?_

_No one has received the particulars from the case. I'm lead to believe that Nancy Drew murdered Ned Nickerson in a jealous rage and covered up it up saying he was the jewel thief. Of course, none of us are to judge without evidence, but George Fayne and Bess Marvin are missing. Have they really been kidnapped or did Nancy murder them to keep them quiet on the real truth about Ned Nickerson?_

_Rest assured, Nancy Drew, that we will indeed be keeping our eye on you. If you so much as blink, we'll be there. The truth will set you free._

Frank sighed and closed his eyes. "Damn it, Joe." He said again.

"All I told her was that Callie showed up looking for Ned." Joe replied helplessly.

"It's _Brenda_." Frank emphasized. "Nancy didn't care about her opinion of us supposedly "cheating" but she'll have an opinion about this."

"I…can't we just keep it from her?"

"No." Frank motioned to the door. "Get in there. And take this with you." He handed the paper to Joe.

Joe opened the door and saw Nancy sitting at her desk, completely absorbed in her notes from her previous case. "Um…Nancy?"

"Yes, Joe?"

"Here." Joe handed the paper to her and quickly moved to the other side of the office. He watched for Nancy's reaction as she read the article. When she finished, she pressed her lips together and threw the paper into the garbage.

"I see."

"Nancy, I went there to defend you and Frank and things just got away from me." Joe said quickly.

"Joe, this isn't the first time Brenda has done this. When everything first came to light, I was accused of a lot." Nancy told them. "Because of everything going on, she is just making more noise than usual."

"You're not mad?"

"No, not at you."

"Nan, there is something I have to talk to you about." Frank said. "Actually both of you need to hear this."


End file.
